Bangladesh draw England and West Indies in group

Bangladesh will take the field on the opening day of the T20 World Cup, led by Liton Kumar Das.

In the group stage of the upcoming T20 World Cup, Bangladesh have been drawn against two former world champions—West Indies and England. The other two teams in Group C are Nepal and debutants Italy.

Bangladesh will begin their campaign against the two-time champions West Indies.

On Tuesday, the ICC revealed the groups and full schedule for the 2026 T20 World Cup—set to be held in India and Sri Lanka—during a grand event in Mumbai.

The 20 participating teams have been divided into four groups. Once again, India and Pakistan have been placed in the same group. Group A also includes the USA, the Netherlands, and Namibia.

Co-host Sri Lanka are in Group B, along with Australia, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Oman.

Group D features New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, and the UAE.

The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup will kick off on February 7. Bangladesh will play on the opening day at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Liton and Saif’s side will play their next two matches at the same venue: on February 9 against Italy—who will be playing their first-ever World Cup—and on February 14 against two-time champions England.

Bangladesh’s final group match will be held on February 17 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, where they will face Nepal.

On the opening day of the tournament, defending champions India will face the USA in Mumbai. The most high-voltage match—India vs. Pakistan—will take place in Colombo on February 15.

Pakistan will play all their group-stage matches in Sri Lanka. If they reach the semifinals and the final, those games will be held in Colombo. Otherwise, the first semifinal will be played in Kolkata and the final in Ahmedabad. The other semifinal will take place in Mumbai.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Eight stage, where the eight teams will be split into two groups. The top two from each Super Eight group will qualify for the semifinals, scheduled for March 4 and 5. The final will be played on March 8.

England (Y1) and West Indies (X3) have been pre-seeded from Bangladesh’s group for the Super Eight. If Bangladesh qualify by taking England’s spot, they will play two Super Eight games in Kandy and one in Colombo. If they progress in West Indies’ position, they will play in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.

The 29-day tournament will be played across eight venues—five in India and three in Sri Lanka.
In India: Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
In Sri Lanka: Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo’s SSC Cricket Ground, and Kandy’s Pallekele International Stadium.