T20 World Cup – All You Need to Know | cricket | SuperSport

The tenth edition of the T20 World Cup is just days away and cricket lovers (and players) will be relieved to see, hear and feel bat-on-ball after a troubled fortnight with the tournament in the news for its politicisation rather than competition.

Neil Manthorp walks you through the teams, venues, format and favourites.

FORMAT

The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Six stage of the tournament where they will be divided into two groups of four in which they will play each other. The top two teams in each group contest the semifinals.

Eight teams have been ‘seeded’ and will be included in predetermined groups to assist with the logistics of scheduling.

The eight teams are: Australia, India, South Africa and West Indies who will comprise Group One should they qualify. England, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will comprise Group Two should they qualify.

The winner of each group will play the runner-up in the opposite group in the semifinals.

Different flags. Same mission. 📸🏏#TheProteas captain, Aiden Markram, who carries the hopes of millions, the pride of a nation, and the dream of lifting cricket’s ultimate T20 prize. 🌍🏆#Unbreakable pic.twitter.com/y3M6th0fyg
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 5, 2026

The 20-team format limits the number of group games with ‘jeopardy’ – at least on paper – but T20 cricket is the least predictable of the formats and even a ‘minnow’ like tournament debutants Italy will fancy their chances of causing an upset.

The expulsion of Bangladesh from the tournament (for requesting to play their fixtures outside of India, as Pakistan are doing) has created a lop-sided look to Group C with England and the West Indies joined by three Associate nations in Nepal, Italy and Scotland who replaced Bangladesh as the highest ranked team not already qualified.

India and Pakistan are also grouped with three non test-playing nations and, if Pakistan follow through with their threat to boycott their match against their traditional rivals, they will have to make certain of victory against Namibia, Netherlands and the USA – and hope that none of the minnows spring a surprise against India – in order to reach the Super Eights.

The Proteas begin their campaign with three straight games at the imposing, 130 000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with Group D being unaffectionately dubbed the ‘Group of Death’ with New Zealand and perennial over-achievers, Afghanistan, strongly fancying their chances.

A chance to write history! 🏆#TheProteas capture the meaning of this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in a single word. 🤩🇿🇦#Unbreakable pic.twitter.com/IrIjlHQSJ5
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 4, 2026

Hosts India have assembled what many experts regard as the strongest squad of all-time in the format with Jasprit Bumrah leading a specialist seam bowling attack, four spin options and a half a dozen batters regularly delivering strike rates of 200+. Unsurprisingly they are the hottest favourites in the history of the tournament at odds of just 2/1.

Australia are second favourites at 5/1 with two-time champions England and Aiden Markram’s Proteas joint third at 6/1 followed by New Zealand (13/1) and Pakistan at 14/1. Another two-time champion, West Indies, are surprisingly high priced at 40/1 along with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

Bookmakers clearly believe there are only nine realistic winners with Ireland placed tenth on their list at …500/1! Romantics and those with a disposition towards frittering away the contents of their wallets and purses may fancy a flutter on Nepal at 1000/1 or Italy at 5000/1.

The tournament starts on Saturday, February 7, with Pakistan facing the Netherlands at 7:30am SA time, West Indies taking on Scotland at 11:30am and India facing the USA at 3:30pm.

There will be two or three games per day throughout the Group stage at the same times.

The updated fixtures list for the Men’s #T20WorldCup 2026 📋

More details ➡️ https://t.co/M61nOzx2fF pic.twitter.com/deynITDuV3
— ICC (@ICC) January 24, 2026

Groups:

Group A: India, Pakistan Namibia, Netherlands, USA

Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Oman

Group C: England, West Indies, Scotland, Nepal, Italy

Group D: South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE

South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.

South Africa Group fixtures:

Feb 9 – Canada (Ahmedabad)

Feb 11 – Afghanistan (Ahmedabad)

Feb 14 – New Zealand (Ahmedabad)

Feb 18 – United Arab Emirates (Delhi)

Venues:

Mumbai – Wankhede Stadium

Kolkata – Eden Gardens

Chennai – MA Chidambaram Stadium

Delhi – Arun Jaitley Stadium

Ahmedabad – Narendra Modi Stadium

Colombo – R.Premadasa Stadium