It is almost time for the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. India head into the tournament as defending champions following their success in the Caribbean and United States in 2024. They are strong favourites in their home conditions - but the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket makes for an exciting tournament.

Here is a full guide to the 10th edition of the men's 20-over global showpiece. The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup starts on 7 February at 05:30 GMT with Pakistan facing the Netherlands in Colombo. It is one of three games on the opening day, with West Indies v Scotland at 09:30 and India v USA at 15:30.

The initial 20-team group stage, that sees four groups of five, continues until 20 February, with three games every day at the same times as above, bar the final day when there is just one game at 13:30. The Super 8s follow with one or two games a day at 09:30 and 13:30, before the semi-finals across 4 and 5 March. The final is on Sunday, 8 March at 13:30 BST in Ahmedabad.

The 2026 Men's T20 World Cup follows the same format as 2024, which was the tournament's biggest with 20 sides taking part. All of the teams are involved from the off in an initial group stage, with each side playing four games and the top two progressing to the Super 8s. The Super 8s, which will take place across India and Sri Lanka, will consist of two groups of four, with eight sides seeded to help with the planning and schedule.

Those eight sides are: Australia, India, South Africa, West Indies (Group 1) and England, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Group 2). Should those sides progress they will go into their respective group based on their seeding, rather than their finishing position in the initial group phase.

In the Super 8s, the top two teams progress to the semi-finals with the winner of each group facing the runner-up in the other. Throughout both phases teams are awarded two points for a win, one for a no result and zero for a loss. There's no ties in T20 cricket - more on that below!

All 12 Test-playing nations have qualified for the tournament after Zimbabwe came through their qualifying stage. Italy are the only tournament debutants, while Canada are at their first global tournament since 2014. Scotland were a late replacement for Bangladesh, who pulled out of the tournament after the governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), refused to meet their request to play their matches in Sri Lanka rather than India due to safety concerns amid rising tensions between the two countries.

Scotland, who were the highest-ranked side to not qualify, took Bangladesh's place in Group C and will fulfill their fixtures as scheduled. Pakistan also considered a full boycott, but their government has decided it can play in the tournament, apart from the game against India on 15 February. The impact of that decision is yet to be communicated by the ICC. They will play their games in Sri Lanka as part of an agreement reached in 2024 around India and Pakistan matches not being played in the other country.

The 20 sides are split into the following four groups in the initial phase:

• Group A: India (X1), Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan (Y3), USA
• Group B: Australia (X2), Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka (Y4), Zimbabwe
• Group C: England (Y1), Italy, Nepal, Scotland, West Indies (X3)
• Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand (Y2), South Africa (X4), United Arab Emirates

A total of eight venues are being used - five in India and three in Sri Lanka. In India, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi will host games. R Premadasa Stadium and Sinhalese Sports Club Ground - both in Colombo - and Pallekele Cricket Stadium put on matches in Sri Lanka.

The Narendra Modi Stadium, which holds 132,000 fans and is the biggest cricket venue in the world, is due to host the final, unless Pakistan qualify, with the game then moved to Colombo.

The tournament is played in a T20 format, so both teams will face 20 overs unless they are bowled out beforehand or the team batting second reaches their target before then. Each innings will start with a six-over powerplay and there are different fielding restrictions in that phase. Matches should last three hours and 10 minutes, with each innings allocated one hour and 25 minutes and separated by a 20-minute interval.

In limited-overs cricket there is a 'stop-clock' meaning the bowling side must be ready to bowl each over within 60 seconds of the previous one finishing. Each side will be allowed two unsuccessful reviews per innings. Should the number of runs scored by each team be level after 20 overs, the match will go to a super over (each team will face six balls - highest score wins). If that finishes a tie then super overs will continue to be played until a winner is found.

In the two group phases a minimum of five overs per side must be played to constitute a result, but that rises to 10 overs in the semi-finals and final. If a match is halted after that point due to weather conditions then DLS (Duckworth Lewis Stern method) will be used to decide the winner.

The ICC are yet to publish playing conditions around reserve days and extra time allocated to the knockout matches. If Pakistan reach the semi-finals, Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium will replace Kolkata as the venue for the first semi-final, while the final would also move if Pakistan qualify. If India make the last four and face any side that is not Pakistan, they will play in the second semi-final in Mumbai on 5 March.

There have been six winners of the nine Men's T20 World Cups. They are: There will be ball-by-ball commentary of all 55 matches across BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Our commentary team includes Henry Moeran, Prakash Wakankar, Aatif Nawaz, Daniel Norcross, Simon Mann, Nikesh Rughani, Kevin Howells and Melissa Story.

Expert analysis will come from multiple Ashes winner Steven Finn, World Cup winner Alex Hartley, T20 World Cup champion Dawid Malan, Scotland and England T20 World Cup spinner Kirstie Gordon, former Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien and Big Bash winner Michael Carberry.

The BBC Sport website and app will have live text commentary on selected group-stage matches then every match from the Super 8s onwards. There will be daily reports and score updates alongside in-play and post-match video highlights, alongside regular coverage on the BBC Cricket Instagram, external account. The tournament is available to watch live in the UK on Sky Sports.