The 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is set to begin on February 7, 2026, across venues in India and Sri Lanka. The month-long tournament features 20 teams and will witness the final on March 8. India, having secured titles in 2007 and 2024, heads into this co-hosted event as one of the favourites alongside fellow past winners England and the West Indies.
The T20 World Cup began in 2007 in South Africa, where India, led by MS Dhoni, emerged as the inaugural champions. Two years later, Pakistan secured the 2009 title in England with a dominant eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka. Most recently, India returned to the summit by defeating South Africa in 2024, joining the elite club of multi-time winners.
What are the rules for the points table?
The T20 World Cup’s scoring system remains steady despite various format changes over the years. For a win, a team earns two points and one point each for a washout. If a match ends in a tie, the winner of the subsequent Super Over takes both points. These same rules apply through the Super 8 stage. The final standing for teams that finish level on points at any phase is determined by Net Run Rate (NRR), the tournament’s standard tie-breaker.
According to the official ICC playing conditions, here is how final group standings will be determined for the 2026 T20 World Cup:
a) The team with the greatest number of wins in its Group will be placed in the higher position.
b) If there are teams with equal points and equal wins in the Group stage, then in such case the team with the higher net run rate in the Group stage will be placed in the higher position.
c) If two or more teams are still equal, they will be ordered according to the head-to-head match played between them (points then net run rate in those matches)
d) If the above does not resolve the Group ordering, or if all matches within a Group produce no results, then the teams will be ordered as per their original First Round Group seedings.
And here are the corresponding rules for the Super 8s mentioned in the ICC’s Playing Conditions:
a) The team with the greatest number of wins in its Group will be placed in the higher position.
b) If there are teams with equal points and equal wins in their Group, then in such a case, the team with the higher net run rate in its Group will be placed in the higher position.
c) If two or more teams are still equal, they will be ordered according to the head-to-head match played between them (points then net run rate in those matches).
d) If the above does not resolve the Group ordering, or if all matches within a Group produce no results, then the teams will be ordered as per their position on the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings.