Published: December 31, 2025 at 9:53 am
Exciting times lie ahead for sports lovers in the year 2026. A host of important sports events are lined up in the coming year that are likely to provide plenty of thrill and drama to sports fans. The biggest event will be the FIFA World Cup, which for the first time in history will see 48 teams taking part in the mega event that will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The world’s most famous players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi along with younger superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Jude Bellingham and many others, will display their exquisite skills for their respective national teams.
But unfortunately, there will be no Indian team in the fray since India has failed to qualify.
Men’s T20 World Cup in February-March
India are the favourites to again win the trophy that they had won twice earlier
So, from the Indian standpoint, the most interesting event of the year is likely to be the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 cricket World Cup that will be played between February 7 to March 8. The Cup tournament will be co-hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Sri Lanka Cricket. A total of twenty teams will compete in 55 matches across five venues in India, and three in Sri Lanka.
Needless to say, India are the favourites to again win the trophy that they had won twice earlier. India are placed in Group A along with Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia. India was one of the first countries to select and announce its team. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, it has some destructive batters like Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma but the surprise omission was that of Shubman Gill.
The ICC women’s T20 World Cup will also be held in 2026, from June 12 to July 5. The tournament will be contested by 12 teams for the first time. New Zealand are the defending champions. India has been placed in Group A with Australia, Pakistan and South Africa plus two more yet to be announced.
After the Indian women’s victory in the World Cup in 2025, expectations are high that our star batters and bowlers will again shine. All eyes will be on Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur and the players who did well in the ODI championship.
Under 19 World Cup in Zimbabwe & Namibia
The U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup will be held from January 15 to February 6 in Zimbabwe and Namibia. India have qualified directly for the mega event after finishing in the top 10 from the previous edition. India have been placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, New Zealand and USA.
Other cricket competitions
From January 11 to 31, India will host New Zealand for three ODI and five T20I matches. Later the IPL will start in March with the final ending in May. In June, there is Afghanistan’s tour of India for a single Test and three ODIs.
From July 1 to 19, the Indian cricket team will tour England for a white ball series consisting of five T20I matches and three ODIs. In August, the Indian team will travel to Sri Lanka for two Tests, which are a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. In September-October, India will host West Indies in a white-ball series, consisting three ODIs and five T20Is. Post West Indies series, India will travel to New Zealand for three ODIs, five T20Is and two Tests.
After the Indian women’s victory in the World Cup in 2025, expectations are high CC women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Women’s Premier League from January 9
The Women’s Premier League will start on January 9 with the final to be played on February 5. The world’s best women cricketers can be seen in action in the WPL. Immediately after the WPL, the Indian women’s team will fly to Australia in February-March for three T20Is, three ODIs and one Test. These matches will be held from February 15 to March 9.
From July 10 to 13, for the first time ever, the Indian women’s team will play a Test match at the iconic Lord’s in the course of its tour of England. Prior to that, India will play a T20I series of three matches from May to June.
Commonwealth Games and Asian Games: Chances for Indians to shine
The Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games will provide a grand stage for Indian athletes like hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and others to display their mettle
Moving from cricket to other sports, there will be two big multi-sports events that will come up in 2026. The first of these is the Commonwealth Games that are scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2. The second one is the 20th Asian Games that are to be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4.
Both events will provide a grand stage for Indian athletes to shine. It is widely expected that javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will win the gold medal although he will have to overcome challenges from Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad, Anderson Peters of Grenada and Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan.
Other Indian athletes who could do well are Avinash Sable in the 300 metres steeplechase, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, sprinter Animesh Kujur and middle-distance runner Parul Chaudhary. However, they must remain fit between now and the competition dates and meet the qualifying marks in their respective disciplines. India’s weightlifters, boxers, wrestlers, shooters and badminton players are very likely to boost the nation’s medal tally.
BWF World Championship to be held in New Delhi
In the month of August 2026, India will host the 30th edition of the BWF World Championships in New Delhi. This will be the second time that India will host the tournament. On the previous occasion it was held at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad in August 2009.
Shuttler P V Sindhu remains the country’s most decorated player with five medals
India has enjoyed a consistent run in this tournament, winning at least one medal in every edition since 2011. In all, Indian shuttlers have secured 15 medals, one gold, four silver and 10 bronze. Prakash Padukone opened India’s account with a bronze in 1983, while Hyderabad’s P V Sindhu remains the country’s most decorated player with five medals, including a historic gold in 2019, two silvers and two bronze medals.
Other Hyderabadi players have also performed well. Saina Nehwal won a silver in 2015 and a bronze medal in 2017, while Kidambi Srikanth is India’s only men’s singles silver medallist from 2021. In doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa delivered a bronze in women’s doubles at London 2011, still India’s only medal in this category. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have won two men’s doubles bronze medals, at Tokyo and Paris respectively. Other Indians who won medals are Lakshya Sen, B Sai Praneeth and H S Prannoy.
Chess World Championship beckons Indian GMs
The men’s world chess championship will be held in 2026 but the host city and the dates are yet to be decided. If all goes well, the final may see two Indians competing against each other. At present Dommaraju Gukesh is the champion and he will be challenged by the winner of the Candidates tournament.
The 2026 Candidates tournament will be held in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16. It will be an eight-player competition that will determine the challenger for the title of world champion. Among the eight names are Anish Giri and R Pragganandhaa.
Dommaraju Gukesh is the champion and he will be challenged by the winner of the Candidates tournament
The event will be held alongside the Women’s Candidates Tournament. This too will be an eight-player event that will be held to determine the challenger for the women’s crown. From India, Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy have qualified for the tournament as the winner and runner-up respectively, in the Women’s World Cup 2025.
Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands
The 2026 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands from August 14 to 30. Although the list of participating teams has not yet been finalised, it is expected that India will qualify for this hockey mega event.
So, 2026 is going to be an action-packed year with plenty of events on the sports front.
