Mumbai: Traditional rivals India and Pakistan have been clubbed in Group A for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup and will play each other in Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium on February 15 as per the schedule unveiled here on Tuesday.

Pakistan will play all their games in Sri Lanka as per the agreement reached between the BCCI and PCB for the tournament. Due to the prevailing political tension between the two nations, cricket matches involving the national teams are played in neutral venues. In the recently concluded Women's ODI World Cup, Pakistan's matches were played in Sri Lanka.

Reigning champions India will open their campaign against the USA in Mumbai on February 7 before facing Namibia in Delhi on February 12. They will then head to the Sri Lankan capital for the high-voltage clash against Pakistan before concluding their league engagements against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18.

The showpiece will be held across eight venues (five in India and three in Sri Lanka) from February 7 to March 8. The final will take place in either Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on Pakistan’s qualification.

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The tournament will feature 55 matches in Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Colombo and Kandy. ICC chairman Jay Shah announced while unveiling the tournament's schedule.

"The group (A) looks quite decent. It's a T20 format, you never know which team has a good day on a given day. It's all about two batters coming out and two bowlers having a good day," said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.

"(We are) playing in good venues… Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad. And then you talk about the game (against Pakistan) on the 15th, I think we played them recently during the Asia Cup and we had a good time. Everything was completely focused on cricket, nothing else as you must have seen.”

"I'm sure it will be a good game. Boys are always excited to have an India-Pak game,” he added.

Group B features Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Oman, while Group C will have England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal and Italy. Group D comprises New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada and UAE.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, who captained reigning champions India to glory at the previous T20 World Cup in 2024, was named the tournament ambassador.

Rohit was prolific for India in T20Is, ending with 4231 runs at an average of 32.01 and a strike-rate of 140.89.

Rohit retired from the shortest format following India's triumph in the Americas last year, which broke an 11-year drought of ICC trophies for the Indian team.
(With PTI inputs)

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