With the T20 World Cup 2026 just around the corner, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has on Friday (January 30) revealed the full list of match officials who will handle the group-stage games starting from February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
ICC announces match officials for T20 World Cup 2026 group stage
For the group stage, the ICC has selected 24 on-field umpires and six match referees. Most of them are highly experienced and have handled big matches in the past. The ICC stated, “Officials for the Super Eight and knockout stages will be announced in due course.”
The opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 will be played in Colombo between Pakistan and the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo. For this match, Kumar Dharmasena and Wayne Knights will be the on-field umpires.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Read Also: Is Pakistan protecting ‘chucker’ Usman Tariq from ICC ban ahead of IND vs PAK T20 World Cup clash?
Knights will be making his debut as an on-field umpire in a Men’s T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Dharmasena brings huge experience, having already officiated in 37 T20 World Cup matches. He has also been in charge during the T20 WC finals in 2016 and 2022 and was part of Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning team in 1996.
Rod Tucker and Nitin Menon: Experienced names selected
On the opening day in India, Kolkata will host the Group C match between Scotland and the West Indies. Nitin Menon and Sam Nogajski have been given the responsibility for this clash. While Menon had officiated the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, Nogajski handled four group-stage matches.
Later, on the same day, India will face the USA in Mumbai. This match will be officiated by Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker. Tucker is the most experienced official in the tournament, having already officiated in 46 Men’s T20 World Cup matches. During this World Cup, he will also be seeing the matches between England and Nepal, India and Namibia, and South Africa and UAE.
Top officials to officiate India vs Pakistan clash
On February 11, Australia’s Group B match against Ireland will see Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth as the on-field umpires. The two had earlier shared on-field duties during the 2024 T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa in Barbados.
The biggest group-stage match of the T20 World Cup 2026, the India versus Pakistan clash on February 15 in Colombo, will be handled by Richard Illingworth along with Kumar Dharmasena.
Read Also: USA T20 World Cup squad announced; Aaron Jones snubbed, Monank Patel to lead
Match Officials for the T20 World Cup 2026 Group Stage:
Match Referees:
Javagal Srinath, Dean Cosker, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson, David Gilbert, and Ranjan Madugalle.
Umpires:
Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri, and Asif Yaqoo b.
Notably, the 20 teams will battle it out for the ultimate championship in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. The teams are divided into four groups, and the top two teams from each group, comprising five teams, will progress to the next round, and then the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, with the two best teams facing each other in the T20 World Cup 2026 final.
