The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is less than two weeks away with India set to feature as the co-hosts and defending champions.
Currently occupied with New Zealand in a bilateral T20I series, the Men in Blue will also take South Africa on in a warm-up match just before the tournament kicks off.
In fact, most of the participating teams will play one or a couple of Warm-Up matches before the T20 World Cup, except two. Let’s take a look at which teams they are, and likely why they won’t be playing any warm-up games.
England & Sri Lanka Skip T20 World Cup Warm-Up
England, captained by Harry Brook, and Sri Lanka, led by Dasun Shanaka, will not be playing any ICC T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up matches.
While their respective cricket boards have not revealed an exact reason why this is the case, workload management seems to be a possible reason behind the choice.
England have just wrapped up a One Day International (ODI) series with Sri Lanka on the road, and will be staying there for a three-match T20I series against them, with fixtures scheduled for January 30, February 1 and 3, 2026.
This is around the same time frame as the warm-up period for the ICC tournament, and hence, seems to be why England and Sri Lanka won’t specifically play any warm-up matches.
Having said that, it is worth noting that ‘Sri Lanka A’ will be playing one T20 World Cup warm-up match, against Oman on February 3, 2026, same date as the final Sri Lanka vs England T20I series clash.
England & Sri Lanka T20 World Cup Schedule
England and Sri Lanka are placed in different groups at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
The former has matches scheduled on February 8, 11, 14, and 16 against Nepal, West Indies, Scotland, and Italy, respectively.
The latter will be playing Ireland, Oman, Australia, and Zimbabwe on February 8, 12, 16, and 19, respecitvely. Note that these are only the Group Stage fixtures.
