Team India Cricket Schedule: Before the new year starts, know with whom Team India will face, see the complete calendar of 2026 here

By Sandy Verma On Dec 31, 2025

Team India Cricket Schedule: The year 2026 will not only be full of competitions for the Indian men’s cricket team, but it is also going to prove to be a period of tough testing on many fronts. First of all, the team will face the challenge of defending the title by jointly hosting the T20 World Cup, while there will also be pressure to take the team back to the top after being whitewashed by South Africa in Test cricket. Additionally, keeping the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind, India will face the challenge of maintaining consistency in the limited overs format as well as creating a balanced and strong team combination.

Team India 2026 Schedule: T20I, ODI and Test

January 2026: Home clash with New Zealand

The new year will start with the ODI and T20 series between India and New Zealand. The ODI matches will be played in Vadodara, Rajkot and Indore, while the five-match T20 series will start from Nagpur and end in Thiruvananthapuram. This series is considered very important to test the team combination before the upcoming T20 World Cup.

ODI series

January 11: India vs New Zealand – 1st ODI, Vadodara
January 14: India vs New Zealand – 2nd ODI, Rajkot
January 18: India vs New Zealand – 3rd ODI, Indore

t20 series

21 January: 1st T20, Nagpur
23 January: 2nd T20, Raipur
25 January: 3rd T20, Guwahati
28 January: 4th T20, Visakhapatnam
31 January: 5th T20, Thiruvananthapuram

February–March: The biggest test of the T20 World Cup

T20 World Cup 2026 will be played jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February and March. India will face USA, Namibia, Pakistan and Netherlands in the group stage. Especially the India-Pakistan match will be played in Colombo, on which the eyes of the whole world will be. If Team India reaches the knockout, the semi-finals will be played in Mumbai and the final in Ahmedabad.

t20 world group match

February 7: India vs USA – Mumbai
12 February: India vs Namibia – Delhi
15 February: India vs Pakistan – Colombo
18 February: India vs Netherlands – Ahmedabad

Knockout matches (after qualifying in the group stage)

21 February-1 March: Super-8 matches
March 5: Semi-finals – Mumbai
March 8: Final – Ahmedabad

March to May: The thrill of IPL

IPL 2026 will start immediately after the World Cup, which will run from March 26 to May 31. This tournament can prove to be a big platform for young players to make a place in the national team.

June–July: Tests and overseas tours

Afghanistan will tour India in June, where three ODIs and one Test match will be played between the two teams. Let us tell you that the date and venue of the matches against Afghanistan have not been announced yet.

After this, India will tour England in July. Five T20 and three ODI matches will be played in this tour. In the conditions of England, this series will be a tough test of the fitness and consistency of the Indian players.

T20 series vs England

1 July: 1st T20 – Chester-le-Street
4 July: 2nd T20 – Manchester
7 July: 3rd T20 – Nottingham
9 July: 4th T20 – Bristol
July 11: Fifth T20 – Southampton

ODI series

July 14: 1st ODI – Birmingham
16 July: 2nd ODI – Cardiff
July 19: 3rd ODI – Lord’s, London

August to September: Sri Lanka tour, focus on West Indies and Asian Games at home

India will play two test matches on Sri Lanka tour in August. There will be three T20 matches against Afghanistan in September. After this, the Asian Games (Japan) will also be played in September 2026, where everyone’s eyes will be on India’s participation. Along with the Asian Games, the West Indies team will tour India and play three ODIs and five T20 matches.

Last stage of the year: clash with New Zealand and Sri Lanka

India will tour New Zealand in October-November, where two Tests and three ODIs will be played. The Sri Lankan team will come to India in December and play a series of three ODIs and three T20 matches.

Overall, 2026 is going to be a decisive year for Indian cricket. T20 World Cup in domestic conditions, consecutive foreign tours and comeback in Test cricket – Team India will have to show balance and consistency on all these fronts. This year will decide in which direction Indian cricket will move in the coming years.

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