Australia T20 WC 2026 Schedule: Fixtures, Dates & Venues

Highlights:

• Australia’s Group B is a proper Sri Lanka “corridor”: two games in Colombo, two in Kandy, four matches in nine days.

• The schedule looks friendly on paper… until you remember R. Premadasa can turn games into mud-wrestles, and Australia are travelling with one specialist wicketkeeper.

• If seeded teams hold, Australia’s projected Super 8 run is box-office: West Indies (Mumbai), India (Chennai), South Africa (Delhi).

Australia T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule (dates, venues, AEDT times)

If you searched Australia T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule, you’re here for one thing: When are they playing, where, and what time does it start back home? Here you go.

A quick timezone note before we dive in: Sri Lanka time is UTC +5:30 (same as IST), and AEDT is UTC +11. So AEDT is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of match local time in Sri Lanka (and India).

Australia Group B matches (Sri Lanka)

These match dates/venues and AEDT start times are published by Cricket Australia.

Local start times align with the official match listings (Sri Lanka local time).

Australia Match Dates and Venues in one sentence: two at Premadasa (Colombo), then the caravan shifts to Pallekele (Kandy) for the last two.

Warm-up: Australia tour of Pakistan (right before the World Cup)

This is part of the Mitchell Marsh team schedule that matters, because it’s the only “live fire” prep right before Sri Lanka.

The PCB confirmed the dates (Jan 29, 31, Feb 1) and venue (Lahore).

Projected Super 8 schedule (if seeded teams qualify)

This is not a promise—cricket laughs at plans—but Cricket Australia has published a projected Super 8 slate “if all seeded teams qualify.”

Published as Australia’s projected Super 8 path by Cricket Australia.

Australia All Fixtures 2026 in plain English: Pakistan warm-ups → four group games in Sri Lanka → (likely) hop across to India for the Super 8 grinder.

What this schedule actually means (beyond the list)

Australia have avoided the worst kind of World Cup fatigue: constant flights, hotel swaps, and “new pitch, new weather, new headache” every three days. Group B keeps them in Sri Lanka the whole way.

But look closer and you’ll see the real story: two very different venues, and a timetable that swings from a day match at 11am to night games where dew and chaos live.

Colombo first: Premadasa can make big teams look ordinary

11 Feb vs Ireland (Premadasa, Colombo)

Ireland are the classic first-week danger side. They’re organised, they’ve played enough T20 leagues to not freeze, and Premadasa rewards teams that bowl straight and think.

Australia’s best play here is simple: Adam Zampa early, and then again when Ireland think they’re safe. If you let Ireland batters line you up, you’ll spend the chase chasing.

One more thing: Colombo humidity is no joke, and it matters because Australia are taking Josh Inglis as the only specialist wicketkeeper. Cricket Australia has already flagged Glenn Maxwell as the backup keeper.

That’s fine… until it isn’t. Keeping to wrist-spin with a wet ball under lights is a skill, not a vibe.

13 Feb vs Zimbabwe (Premadasa, Colombo — day game)

This is the “get the job done” match, but the 11:00 AM start changes the feel. No evening dew, more dryness, more slow grip off the pitch. This is exactly where Sikandar Raza-type cricketers can turn a tidy 160 chase into a messy 146 all out.

If Australia are smart, they treat Zimbabwe like a professional problem:

• bat first if possible,

• post a score that forces risk,

• squeeze with spin and hard lengths.

Then Kandy: Pallekele is where Australia’s hitters breathe again

16 Feb vs Sri Lanka (Pallekele, Kandy)

This is the group decider for most realistic scenarios. Sri Lanka at home is never fun, and they’ll know exactly when the pitch is “nice” and when it’s a trap.

Australia will like Pallekele more than Premadasa because it’s traditionally had more carry. And yes, every Aussie fan will remember Glenn Maxwell’s 145 at Pallekele in 2016*—the day he basically turned the ground into a video game.

But this isn’t a nostalgia tour. This game is about matchups:

• Sri Lanka’s spin vs Australia’s middle order

• Australia’s new “spin-first” plan vs Sri Lanka’s home comfort

If Mitchell Marsh wins this one, he buys his team breathing space.

20 Feb vs Oman (Pallekele, Kandy)

This is the Net Run Rate opportunity. And also the match where smart teams rotate… if qualification is sealed.

Oman will likely try to drag Australia into a low-scoring arm-wrestle. Australia’s job is to refuse the invitation. Get ahead in the powerplay, force Oman to chase the game, and don’t let the innings drift into a 150-par situation.

The big selection twist: Australia are leaning into spin (for real)

Australia’s 2026 build has been pretty openly aimed at subcontinent conditions, and Cricket Australia’s own framing leans into the risks: injuries to key quicks, plus the single-keeper plan.

This is the philosophical shift: less “pace, mates, pace” and more “control the middle overs, then finish hard.”

And it’s not happening in a vacuum. The tournament itself is in India/Sri Lanka, running from 7 February to 8 March 2026, with matches split across the hosts—plus the broader “hybrid” logistics around Pakistan.

The wicketkeeping gamble (and why it’s peak Australia)

Australia travelling without a reserve wicketkeeper is the kind of move that gets called “brave” if it works and “criminal” if it doesn’t.

Cricket Australia have put it on the record that Maxwell is the fallback if Inglis goes down.

Here’s my honest take: it’s a calculated risk, but it’s also the sort of risk that only looks clever when you don’t need it. One awkward take standing up to Zampa, one jammed finger in a warm-up, one bad cramp in Colombo… and suddenly you’re improvising in a World Cup.

Where Australia can win this group (and where it can go wrong)

Win it: If Australia embrace ugly cricket in Colombo—spin overs on the trot, batting that doesn’t panic when the ball stops—they’ll qualify comfortably and probably top Group B.

Stuff it up: If they try to play Sri Lanka conditions like it’s the MCG—hard hands, cross-bat heaves, seam-first plans—they’ll drop one of the first two and spend the week doing Net Run Rate math. Nobody enjoys that life.

Australia Complete Schedule PDF Download

If you want a one-page print-friendly version (warm-ups + group stage + projected Super 8, with local time and AEDT):

Download the Australia Complete Schedule PDF

Frequently Asked Questions

When Australia playing T20 WC in 2026?

Australia’s Group B games are Feb 11, Feb 13, Feb 16, and Feb 20.

What are Australia’s match timings in AEDT?

Group stage starts are 8:30 PM AEDT, 4:30 PM AEDT, 12:30 AM AEDT, and 12:30 AM AEDT (next day for the last two).

Where are Australia’s Group B matches played?

Two in Colombo (R. Premadasa Stadium), then two in Kandy (Pallekele International Stadium).

Do Australia play any group matches in India?

Not in the group stage. Australia’s group matches are all in Sri Lanka.

What’s Australia’s warm-up schedule before the World Cup?

Australia play Pakistan in Lahore on Jan 29, Jan 31, and Feb 1.

Is the Super 8 schedule confirmed?

The format is confirmed, but Australia’s exact Super 8 opponents depend on qualification. Cricket Australia has published a projection assuming seeded teams qualify.

Final word: the schedule is kind… if Australia accept the grind

This isn’t a “smash 210 and celebrate” group. It’s a “win ugly in Colombo, then cash in at Pallekele” group.

My prediction: Australia qualify, and they’ll look better once they leave Premadasa behind. But if the keeper gamble bites or their quicks can’t stay on the park, they’re one weird afternoon away from a proper World Cup scare.

And if that projected Super 8 path lands—West Indies, India, South Africa—clear your diary. That’s proper cricket.