THE ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is about to explode through India And Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, featuring 20 teams competing in 55 high-octane matches. The tournament is spread across eight iconic venues including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai. Indiaalongside Colombo and Kandy in Sri Lanka. Defending champions India will kick off the show on February 7 against the United States at the Wankhede Stadium, while the grand finale is scheduled at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
T20 World Cup 2026: Ricky Ponting’s ultimate prediction for top runs scorer and player of the tournament
In massive pre-tournament support, legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting named the opener Abhishek Sharma as his choice to be both top scorer and player of the tournament. Ponting, who was Abhishek’s first IPL coach in Delhi, revealed that he “begged” the franchise not to trade the youngster years ago, after recognizing his superstar potential from his very first ball. The ICC Hall of Fame believes that ‘inexperience’ at major ICC events is a secret weapon, allowing him to play without mental baggage or fear.
“He’s a star. I think (lack of experience) is a really positive to be honest. He can be the top run-scorer and potentially player of the tournament. That’s how good I think he is. And if he does, it makes India even harder to beat. If he doesn’t, then they’re as vulnerable as anyone else. So that’s how important I think he is for this World Cup (T20) for India.” Ponting was cited by ICC.
After a sensational series against New Zealand where he batted at an astonishing average of 45.50 and strike rate of 249.31, Abhishek is seen by Ponting as the ‘X-factor’ who makes India almost impossible to beat if he finds his rhythm early in the group stages.
“I was his first IPL coach. He made his debut with me, I think at the age of 17 in Delhi and made an immediate impact. I think he hit his first ball for four or six directly over the bowler’s head with that classic sort of straight bat and held the pose. And you could see then at 17 that there was something very special. We ended up trading him away from Delhi, but I pleaded and pleaded and pleaded and I said, please don’t do that we have to (keep him), there’s an absolute superstar in the making here and that’s what it turned out to be I have really high hopes for him right now. Ponting concluded.
India’s T20 World Cup title defense under Suryakumar Kumar
Under the direction of Suryakumar Yadavthe Men in Blue enter the 2026 edition as defending champions and the world’s number one T20I team. India are placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Namibia, the Netherlands and the United States, with their opening match scheduled against the Americans at the Wankhede Stadium on February 7.
The team boasts incredible depth, with a mix of seasoned veterans like Jasprit Bumrah And Hardik Pandya alongside explosive ‘Gen-Next’ stars who dominated the home series leading up to the Cup. With the tournament co-hosted in India and Sri Lanka, home field advantage and familiarity with sub-continental tracks make India the hot favorites to become the first team to win back-to-back Men’s T20 World Cup titles.
