The ICC T20I World Cup 2026 has been a massive success so far. The group Stages have seen some of the most entertaining cricket ever played in an ICC Tournament. The tournament is being played in India and Sri Lanka and the Super 8s are about to begin. The Tournament started on 7th February 2026 and the final will be on 8th March.
Let’s look at the Reasons why the Group Stages of ICC T20I World Cup 2026 have been a massive success
The Associate Nations are the ones that have raised the quality of the ICC T20I World Cup. The decision by the ICC to play 20 teams in this tournament has been one of the best in recent times. Teams like Nepal and their fans are some of the best in this tournament. A team like Italy who are so good in Football have made a mark in this tournament as they won a match easily. Zimbabwe have qualified for the Super 8s and they beat Australia. Scotland arrived into this tournament without any preparation but they have impressed everyone. The USA team almost beat India and they are gaining with every tournament.
The crowds have been half full in all the non India Matches at the World Cup. Stadiums like Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad have seen more than 30,000 people attend the matches of the teams such as Nepal, Italy, South Africa, England. This has been made possible because the ticket pricing has been very affordable and fans want to see cricket but not at exorbitant prices. The atmosphere at the stadiums has been a big factor for the success of the World Cup. The Super 8s need to be as evenly priced so that the fans can attend all the Matches and not just the India ones.
The battle that has been witnessed between bat and ball in this tournament has been a refreshing sight. Before the tournament there were talks about scoring 300 runs in an innings. However the pitches have been sporting and scores within the range of 150-190 have been common in this tournament. The batters have hit more than 300 sixes but the bowlers have also taken Wickets at regular intervals. There have been close matches and the fans and experts have been pleasantly surprised seeing the quality of the pitches offering pace and turn. The Super 8s need to maintain the balance between bat and ball. All the 8 grounds have produced different pitches and 200 has been crossed less than 10 times.
This T20I World Cup has shown that this format is the one that can take the game all around the world. A 20 team World Cup is the start and the teams have shown that they can hang with the big boys. The ICC now needs to organise full tours between the established countries and nations such as Italy, Nepal, Scotland, Zimbabwe, USA. That would not have been realized if this tournament would not have existed. The group Stages have shown that the difference between the teams is decreasing and the ultimate aim of the ICC should be to have a 32 team T20I World Cup in the future.
