A major dispute between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) caused a delay in the announcement of the T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up schedule. The schedule for the World Cup warm-up matches has finally been released, featuring 15 matches. These matches will be played from February 2nd to February 6th, while the World Cup tournament will begin on February 7th.
Scotland has been included in the warm-up schedule in place of Bangladesh, as the Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to send its team to India. These warm-up matches will be particularly important for Scotland, as they haven't had much time to prepare. Team India will play three warm-up matches before the tournament begins.
T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up matches will commence on February 2nd. These matches will be played in Bengaluru, Chennai, Navi Mumbai, and Colombo. The first match will be played between Afghanistan and Scotland on February 2nd. Team India will also be in action on the same day.
England and Sri Lanka did not participate in the T20 World Cup warm-up matches
England, captained by Harry Brook, and Sri Lanka, led by Dasun Shanaka, will not play any warm-up matches before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. While the respective cricket boards have not provided a specific reason, workload management appears to be a likely factor behind this decision.
England recently concluded an ODI series against Sri Lanka away from home and will now play a three-match T20I series against them at the same venue, with matches scheduled for January 30, February 1, and February 3, 2026.
This timeframe is quite close to the warm-up period for the ICC tournament, and therefore, it seems this is the reason why England and Sri Lanka, in particular, will not be playing any warm-up matches. However, it is worth noting that the 'Sri Lanka A' team will play a T20 World Cup warm-up match against Oman on February 3, 2026, which is the same date as the final match of the Sri Lanka vs England T20 International series.
ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Warm Up Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2 | Afghanistan vs Scotland | Bengaluru | 3:00 PM |
| Feb 2 | India A vs USA | Navi Mumbai | 5:00 PM |
| Feb 2 | Canada vs Italy | Chennai | 7:00 PM |
| Feb 3 | Sri Lanka A vs Oman | Colombo | 1:00 PM |
| Feb 3 | Netherlands vs Zimbabwe | Colombo | 3:00 PM |
| Feb 3 | Nepal vs UAE | Chennai | 5:00 PM |
| Feb 4 | Namibia vs Scotland | Bengaluru | 1:00 PM |
| Feb 4 | Afghanistan vs West Indies | Bengaluru | 3:00 PM |
| Feb 4 | Ireland vs Pakistan | Colombo | 5:00 PM |
| Feb 4 | India vs South Africa | Navi Mumbai | 7:00 PM |
| Feb 5 | Oman vs Zimbabwe | Colombo | 1:00 PM |
| Feb 5 | Canada vs Nepal | Chennai | 3:00 PM |
| Feb 5 | New Zealand vs USA | Navi Mumbai | 5:00 PM |
| Feb 6 | Italy vs UAE | Chennai | 3:00 PM |
| Feb 6 | India A vs Namibia | Bengaluru | 5:00 PM |
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 League Stage Groups
- Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
- Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
- Group C: England, West Indies, Scotland, Nepal, Italy
- Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
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