India posted 240/6 against South Africa in a warm-up. Narayan Jagadeesan scored a century that barely anyone reported. Oman beat Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka A in back-to-back matches. Italy beat UAE by 112 runs the largest warm-up victory of the entire week.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up matches ran from February 2 to 6, 2026 five days, 16 matches, 20 teams, across venues in India and Sri Lanka. This page gives you the complete Icc men’s t20 world cup warm-up matches schedule, all 16 results in one table, and the performances and stories that actually mattered.
What are ICC Men’s T20 World Cup warm-up matches?
Why Warm-ups Exist And What They Actually Test
Warm-up matches give squads two things no net session can: match conditions and competition against real international opponents. Captains use them to test squad combinations, experiment with batting orders, manage workloads (resting key players), and allow fringe players to make a case for inclusion.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-ups gave each team 1-2 games to prepare before Group A and Group B matches began on February 7.
Do Warm-up Results Count?
No. Warm-up matches in ICC tournaments are unofficial. Runs scored, wickets taken, and match results do not count towards player T20I statistics or team rankings. Only tournament group matches, Super 8 games, semi-finals, and the final are official.
This matters for two reasons: teams rotate squads freely without strategic consequence, and results reflect partial preparations not final team selections.
What You Can And Cannot Read Into Warm-up Performances
What warm-ups do tell you:
- Batting order intent (where coaches plan to deploy players)
- Bowling workload strategy (who gets overs, who is being managed)
- Form of players on the bubble those pushing for the final XI
- Pitch and venue conditions (how a ground plays before the tournament begins)
What warm-ups do not tell you:
- Whether a team’s best bowlers will be at full intensity (many rest pacers)
- Whether batting collapses reflect structural weakness or deliberate experimentation
- Who will be selected in the final tournament XI
This is where things go wrong for most cricket fans: they read a warm-up win as a tournament signal and a warm-up loss as a crisis. In reality, coaches treat warm-ups as extended training sessions with scoreboards.
T20 World Cup 2026 Warm-up Schedule, Dates, Venues, Times
Dates: February 2–6, 2026
India venues:
- BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Bengaluru
- BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2, Bengaluru
- MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk), Chennai
- Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai
Sri Lanka venues:
- R. Premadasa Stadium (Khettarama), Colombo
- Colombo Cricket Club Ground, Colombo
- SSC Cricket Ground, Colombo
All 16 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Warm-up Results Complete Table
| Date | Match | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2 | Afghanistan vs Scotland | BCCI CoE G1, Bengaluru | AFG won by 61 runs |
| Feb 2 | India A vs USA | DY Patil, Navi Mumbai | IND A won by 38 runs |
| Feb 2 | Canada vs Italy | Chepauk, Chennai | ITA won by 3 runs |
| Feb 3 | Sri Lanka A vs Oman | CCC Ground, Colombo | OMN won by 5 wkts |
| Feb 3 | Netherlands vs Zimbabwe | RPS, Colombo | ZIM won by 29 runs |
| Feb 3 | Nepal vs UAE | Chepauk, Chennai | NEP won by 7 wkts |
| Feb 4 | Scotland vs Namibia | BCCI CoE G2, Bengaluru | NAM won by 6 runs |
| Feb 4 | Afghanistan vs West Indies | BCCI CoE G1, Bengaluru | AFG won by 23 runs |
| Feb 4 | Ireland vs Pakistan | SSC Ground, Colombo | Match abandoned |
| Feb 4 | India vs South Africa | DY Patil, Navi Mumbai | IND won by 30 runs |
| Feb 5 | Oman vs Zimbabwe | CCC Ground, Colombo | OMN won by 4 wkts |
| Feb 5 | Canada vs Nepal | Chepauk, Chennai | NEP won by 6 wkts |
| Feb 5 | Australia vs Netherlands | RPS, Colombo | No result |
| Feb 5 | New Zealand vs USA | DY Patil, Navi Mumbai | NZ won by 7 runs |
| Feb 6 | Italy vs UAE | Chepauk, Chennai | ITA won by 112 runs |
| Feb 6 | India A vs Namibia | BCCI CoE G1, Bengaluru | IND A won by 130 runs |
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India’s Warm-up: 240/6 Beat South Africa 210/7 By 30 Runs (dy Patil, Feb 4)
The Powerplay Explosion Kishan And Abhishek Vs Nortje (73/0 In 6 Overs)
India’s warm-up against South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai was a 440-run spectacle that told you everything about what both teams intended to do at the T20 World Cup.
Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma opened for India. In Anrich Nortje’s first over, four sixes were hit three by Kishan, one by Abhishek. By the end of the powerplay, India were 73/0. Both batters cleared the boundary with contempt against one of the fastest bowlers in the tournament.
India finished on 240/6 a total that would sit comfortably among the top five in T20I history.
Hardik Pandya’s 30 Off 10 Balls Late-innings Destruction
Rinku Singh was dismissed in the 18th over. Hardik Pandya walked in at the death and scored 30 off 10 balls. A strike rate of 300. In the context of the 2026 T20 WC, Hardik’s cameo confirmed his role as India’s most dangerous death-over batter someone who makes 240 look like 250.
The common mistake: assuming 30 off 10 in a warm-up is meaningless. In Hardik’s case, his death-overs approach doesn’t change between warm-ups and finals. If he hits at 300 SR in a warm-up, he’ll do it in the knockout stages too.
What India’s 240 Meant As A T20 Wc Signal
India entered the T20 WC 2026 as the defending champion (having won T20 WC 2024) and the host nation. Their warm-up 240 against the same South Africa team that would go on to win every Super 8 match sent a clear signal: India’s batting ceiling is 240+. The question was never can they score it was whether Bumrah and the bowling could complement the batting.
South Africa’s 210/7 The Fight-back Tristan Stubbs Led
South Africa chased 241 and scored 210/7 in 20 overs falling 30 short but scoring at over 10 per over in their second innings. Tristan Stubbs 44* not out anchored SA’s middle-order response. Ricardo Vasconcelos (44) contributed at the top.
The counterintuitive observation: South Africa’s 210 in a losing chase is arguably the more impressive batting number of this warm-up. They scored 210 against a full-strength India attack. That firepower eventually helped them remain unbeaten through the Super 8 stage before Finn Allen’s 33-ball century dismantled them in the semi-final.
India A vs USA: Jagadeesan’s 104 and 238/3 (DY Patil, Feb 2)
Narayan Jagadeesan 104 Off 55: The Forgotten Warm-up Century
Narayan Jagadeesan scored 104 off 55 balls for India A against USA at the DY Patil Stadium on February 2. One hundred and four runs, 55 deliveries, against a full USA international squad in an ICC World Cup warm-up fixture.
Not one ICC competitor page has a sentence about it. It is the most overlooked individual performance of the entire warm-up window.
Jagadeesan’s 104 drove India A to 238/3 in 20 overs a batting total that confirmed India A’s strength even without the main squad. The India A squad built specifically for these warm-ups (to allow the main squad to rest or prepare separately for their SA game) performed like a full international side.
India A 238/3 Beat USA 200 All Out (IND A Won By 38 Runs)
USA responded with 200 all out bowled out in 19.4 overs while chasing 239. USA’s 200 was competitive considering the scale of the chase. But Ravi Bishnoi’s 3-wicket haul, supported by Naman Dhir and Khaleel Ahmed with 2 wickets each, dismantled USA’s middle order and lower order systematically.
Bishnoi’s spin against USA’s batting is worth noting: the same USA batting order that had tied India in the 2024 Super Over failed to chase 239 against India’s second-choice spinners. A clear batting limitation that reappeared in the main tournament USA conceded 161/9 to India in Match 3 but were bowled out for 132 themselves.
Oman’s Double-upset The Warm-up’s Biggest Underdog Story
Beat Sri Lanka A by 5 wickets (Feb 3) and Zimbabwe by 4 wickets (Feb 5)
Oman beat Sri Lanka A by 5 wickets on February 3 at the CCC Ground in Colombo. Sri Lanka A a team populated with players on the fringes of the Sri Lanka national squad are not a weak side on their home surface. Oman won it anyway.
Two days later at the same ground, Oman beat Zimbabwe by 4 wickets. Zimbabwe are a full ICC member T20I team. Oman beating them in the second warm-up fixture was not an anomaly it was a pattern.
Two warm-up wins, both against teams ranked above them, at home venues the opponents knew better. What most people miss: Oman’s warm-up double was the clearest sign that the “minnows vs giants” framing around T20 WC 2026 underdogs was overdue for reassessment.
Afghanistan’s 2-0 Warm-up Record Dark Horse Confirmed?
Beat Scotland by 61 runs (Feb 2), beat West Indies by 23 runs (Feb 4)
Afghanistan defeated Scotland by 61 runs at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru on February 2. Scotland, a competitive T20 team ranked above Afghanistan in bilateral series history, were restricted to 123 chasing 184.
Then on February 4, Afghanistan beat West Indies by 23 runs at the same ground posting 182/6 and bowling West Indies out for 159/7. West Indies would go on to be one of the most competitive teams in the Super 8 stage.
Bold observation: Afghanistan’s 2-0 warm-up record was the best among the top-8 ranked T20I teams in the tournament. No team they played was a pushover. Rashid Khan’s bowling form and Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s batting approach in these warm-ups signalled Afghanistan as the genuine dark horse of the 2026 T20 WC a team that could beat any single opponent in the Super 8 on a given day.
Italy’s 112-run win vs UAE: The Largest Warm-up Margin
Italy 193/7, UAE 81: The Warm-up Week’s Biggest Blowout
Italy beat UAE by 112 runs on February 6 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai posting 193/7 and dismissing UAE for just 81 in 18.2 overs.
112 runs. The largest winning margin of any game in the entire warm-up window.
Italy are a T20I associate member a cricket nation most fans would not consider in the same breath as UAE, who have appeared in three consecutive T20 World Cups. Yet their bowlers dismissed UAE for 81 and their batting posted 193 on a Chepauk surface that was assisting spin.
Italy had also beaten Canada by 3 runs on February 2 in a match that went down to the final over. Two warm-up matches, two wins, including the tournament’s largest warm-up winning margin. Italy’s improvement as a cricket nation over the previous three years driven by the ICC’s Europe development programme and a squad built largely from the Italian-Australian diaspora was on full display.
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New Zealand vs USA: 208/7 beat 201/8 by just 7 runs (DY Patil, Feb 5)
The NZ vs USA warm-up at DY Patil, Navi Mumbai was the closest game of the entire window decided by just 7 runs. New Zealand posted 208/7 and USA responded with 201/8 in 20 overs chasing one of the highest targets of the warm-up fixtures and finishing 7 short.
USA’s 201/8 was a genuine team batting performance. Three days later, USA would play India in the main tournament scoring only 132 chasing 162. The 70-run difference between USA vs NZ warm-up batting (201) and USA vs India tournament batting (132) is the clearest illustration of what warm-ups cannot predict about tournament performance.
India A squad for T20 WC 2026 warm-up Matches
India named a separate “India A” squad to play the two warm-up matches against USA (Feb 2) and Namibia (Feb 6) allowing the full national squad to prepare specifically for their February 4 South Africa warm-up and February 7 tournament opener against USA.
India A Squad:
- Ayush Badoni (c), Naman Dhir, Ashutosh Sharma, Priyansh Arya, N. Jagadeesan (wk), Tilak Varma*, Riyan Parag, Manav Suthar, Ashok Sharma, Urvil Patel (wk), Gurjapneet Singh, Vipraj Nigam, Ravi Bishnoi, Khaleel Ahmed, Mayank Yadav
*Tilak Varma featured in one warm-up match before joining the main India squad.
India A beat USA by 38 runs (238/3 beat 200 all out) and beat Namibia by 130 runs (197/8 beat 67 all out, Namibia collapsing in the chase) a comprehensive 2-0 record that confirmed India’s second-tier depth.
What Warm-up Results Actually Predict A Practical Guide
After analysing all 16 results from the 2026 T20 WC warm-ups, these are the specific signals that carried genuine predictive value:
- Bowling form is more reliable than batting form in warm-ups: Batting orders rotate heavily. Bowling attacks stay closer to tournament plans. Bishnoi (3 wickets, IND A vs USA), Rashid Khan (bowling in AFG’s two wins), and Nortje (despite being hit for four sixes) all showed tournament-grade bowling form.
- A warm-up 200+ total signals a batting unit that is ready: India (240), Italy (193), New Zealand (208), India A (238) all posted 190+ in warm-ups. All four also performed well in the early tournament stages.
- Team collapses in warm-up chases should be taken seriously: UAE (81 all out), Namibia (67 all out), and Scotland (123) all collapsed chasing totals well within T20 average range. All three teams struggled in the main tournament’s group stage.
- The abandoned Pakistan vs Ireland match gave no data and Pakistan entered the tournament slightly underprepared in match-simulation terms, having had no warm-up game result to build on.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. When were the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up matches played?
Ans. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up matches were played from February 2 to 6, 2026, across venues in India (Bengaluru, Chennai, Navi Mumbai) and Sri Lanka (Colombo) — the five days immediately before the tournament began on February 7.
Q2. How many warm-up matches were there in T20 World Cup 2026?
Ans. There were 16 warm-up matches in total across the 5-day window, involving all 20 teams participating in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Q3. Did India play a warm-up match before T20 World Cup 2026?
Ans. Yes. India played two warm-up fixtures: India A beat USA by 38 runs on February 2, and the full India team beat South Africa by 30 runs (India 240/6, SA 210/7) on February 4 at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
Q4. Do warm-up match results count in official T20I statistics?
Ans. No. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup warm-up matches are unofficial. Runs, wickets, and results have no effect on player T20I records, team win-loss statistics, or ICC T20I rankings.
Q5. Which team had the best warm-up record in T20 World Cup 2026?
Ans. Afghanistan had the standout warm-up record: 2-0, beating Scotland by 61 runs and West Indies by 23 runs. Italy also went 2-0 (beat Canada by 3 runs, beat UAE by 112 runs). India won both their fixtures (IND A beat USA, India beat SA) for a combined 4-0 record across both squads.