The year 2025 witnessed a lot of thrilling activity in international cricket. India had a spectacular year in white-ball cricket. The men’s team won the ICC Champions Trophy in the United Arab Emirates. The women’s team made history by winning their first ODI World Cup, and the Indian blind women’s team won the inaugural Women’s T20 World Cup for the Blind.
South Africa excelled at Test cricket in 2025. They defeated Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s and then won 2-0 in India to cement their place as champions. While Australia failed to defend their World Cup title, they outperformed England in the Ashes, winning the first three Tests to retain the urn.
There are also some significant international cricket events scheduled for 2026. In this feature, we look at five key international cricket tournaments to look forward to in the next year.
1. 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
The Men in Blue will also defend their title at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that will be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. There are 20 teams playing the T20 World Cup and were placed in four groups of five teams each. India are placed in Group A along with Pakistan, Namibia, United States and Netherlands.
After the group stage, top two teams from each pool move to compete in the Super Eight stage, a knockout round where as these tournaments progresses into its semifinals and final. Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the 2026 T20 World Cup, with all-rounder Axar Patel named his deputy.
2. 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
Well, it’s not just the men (ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will take place later this year). The tournament is to be played in England from June 12 to July 5. New Zealand are the current defending champions in the ICC event. They won their first title in the tournament at the 2024 event by beating South Africa in the final in Dubai. They came runners-up to India in 2020, and will be hoping to go one better.
3. 2026 Asian Games
Cricket will be part of the 2026 Asian Games, which are scheduled to take place in Japan from Sep19-Oct4. In July last year, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced that cricket will feature in the 2026 Asian Games. According to an ACC press release, 10 men and eight women teams from the continent would be involved in the Asian Games with the teams being decided on their rankings.
Cricket made its debut in 2010 at the Guangzhou event; the Asia Games macau games and World Schools Championship will also be held. India are the defending champions for both men and women, but last won the men’s in Hangzhou at the 2023 edition.
4. India tour of New Zealand
India will be playing two Tests in New Zealand when they come as part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. It is going to be a tough series for India as they have a terrible record in this country when it comes to red-ball cricket. India have played 25 Tests in New Zealand, winning five and losing 10, while the remaining 10 ended in draws.
Besides playing two test matches, the visitors are also expected to face New Zealand in three ODIs. Date and Time The exact fixtures has not been announced yet, but we know that India’s tour of New Zealand 2026 will be played in the months of October-November.
5. Australia’s tour of South Africa
Australia and South Africa have played out some memorable cricket over the years in all formats. (The Aussies will head to South Africa for three Tests – part of WTC 2025-27 – and as many ODIs in Sept-Oct.) Expect another tight tussle between Australia and the Proteas. The details of the tour have not yet been announced.
