The 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the second edition of the expanded 20-team format and the first to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. For Indian viewers it is the marquee ICC window of the year, and crucially, it is the one major paywalled-feeling event where DD Sports re-emerges with free-to-air carry on India matches.
Where to watch the T20 World Cup 2026 legally in India
Star Sports carries the linear feed across Star Sports 1, 2 and 3 with Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali language tracks. JioHotstar mirrors the feed on digital. DD Sports picks up FTA carry on selected India men’s matches under the government’s Sports Broadcasting Signals Act mandate — the same mechanism that gives free-to-air carry to India’s senior men’s home tours.
| Platform | What you get | 2026 cost (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Star Sports (DTH linear) | Full tournament, all 55 matches, 7 languages | Bundled in DTH sports add-on (~₹25–40 / month) |
| JioHotstar Premium | Full tournament digital, 4K, multi-device | ₹499–699 / 3 months |
| JioHotstar Mobile | Full tournament, single mobile stream | ₹149 / 3 months |
| DD Sports | Selected India men’s matches (FTA) | Free |
Pan-region availability
| Region | Legal carrier |
|---|---|
| India | Star Sports + JioHotstar + DD Sports (India matches FTA) |
| Pakistan | PTV Sports + A Sports + Tapmad TV |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports Cricket |
| United States | Willow TV by Cricbuzz |
| Australia | Fox Cricket + Channel 7 (selected) |
Series schedule
The fixture list is locked across the India–Sri Lanka co-hosting window.
Cricket schedule — legal broadcasters by country
Bilateral India + Pakistan rights split, with UK and Australia for the diaspora. Tour windows shift; confirm kick-off against the rights-holder app on match day.
| Series | Format | Window | Teams | India (legal) | Pakistan (legal) | UK (legal) | Australia (legal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC Champions Trophy 2026 | ODI | Feb 2026 | 8 nations (TBC host: Pakistan) | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV Sports / Tapmad TV | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket / Kayo Sports |
| IPL 2026 | T20 league | Mar–May 2026 | 10 franchises | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Not licensed (PEMRA blackout) | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket |
| PSL 2026 | T20 league | Apr–May 2026 | 6 franchises | Sony Sports (subject to confirmation) | PTV Sports / Tapmad TV / A Sports | Sky Sports / Willow TV | TBC |
| England tour of India | Tests + ODIs + T20Is | Jan–Feb 2026 | India vs England | Star Sports + JioHotstar | PTV / Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket / TNT Sports | Fox Cricket |
| Australia vs India ODI series | ODI | Oct–Nov 2026 (tentative) | India vs Australia | Sony Sports / JioHotstar | Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket / Channel 7 |
| ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | T20 World Cup | Feb–Mar 2026 (India + Sri Lanka hosts) | 20 nations | Star Sports + JioHotstar + DD Sports (selected) | PTV / A Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket / Channel 7 |
| BBL 2025/26 finals | T20 league knockout | Feb 2026 | Top-5 BBL | Sony Sports | Sony Sports (selected) | BT Sport / TNT Sports | Channel 7 + Fox Cricket |
| The Hundred 2026 | 100-ball league | Aug 2026 | 8 franchises | Sony Sports (TBC) | TBC | Sky Sports + BBC (selected) | Fox Cricket (TBC) |
| CPL 2026 | T20 league | Aug–Sep 2026 | 6 franchises | FanCode / Star Sports | Tapmad TV | Sky Sports / FanCode | Kayo Sports |
| ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 | T20 World Cup (Women) | Jun 2026 (England host) | 10 nations | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV | Sky Sports + BBC | Fox Cricket |
| Asia Cup 2026 | T20 / ODI (TBC) | Sep 2026 | 6 nations | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV / A Sports | Sky Sports | Fox Cricket |
| WTC 2025–27 cycle: India tests | Test | Through Jun 2027 | India + opponents | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket |
| Sri Lanka tour of Australia | ODI + T20I | Feb 2026 | Sri Lanka vs Australia | FanCode | Tapmad TV | Sky Sports (selected) | Fox Cricket / Channel 7 |
| Pakistan vs Bangladesh ODI series | ODI | Apr 2026 | Pakistan vs Bangladesh | Ten Sports | PTV Sports / A Sports | Sky Sports (selected) | TBC |
| Pakistan tour of England | Tests + ODIs + T20Is | Jul–Aug 2026 | Pakistan vs England | Sony Sports | PTV Sports / A Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket (selected) |
CricHD Guide is editorial only — we do not host, embed or link to unauthorised streams. Match access is via the licensed broadcaster apps listed above.
| Stage | Window | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Mid Feb – early Mar 2026 | 20 teams, four groups of five |
| Super 8s | Early Mar 2026 | Top 2 from each group |
| Semi-finals | Mid Mar 2026 | Mumbai + Colombo (TBC) |
| Final | Late Mar 2026 | Wankhede or Eden Gardens (TBC) |
How to watch legally
- For India matches on a free-to-air route, tune to DD Sports on terrestrial Doordarshan or your cable / DTH FTA pack — confirm match-by-match because FTA carry is mandated per fixture, not blanket.
- For every match on linear TV, subscribe to a Star Sports-inclusive DTH sports pack on Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV, d2h or Dish TV.
- For mobile / Smart-TV / 4K, JioHotstar is the only digital home — the Mobile tier covers a single phone; Premium covers Smart-TV and 4K.
- Diaspora viewers route to Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (US) or Fox Cricket / Channel 7 (Australia).
ICC event rights vs IPL rights — a quick distinction
ICC tournaments and the IPL look identical on the broadcaster surface — both run on Star Sports + JioHotstar — but the underlying contracts are different. ICC events are licensed globally by the ICC to each national broadcaster, which is why Pakistan does carry the T20 World Cup (PTV + A Sports) even though Pakistan does not carry the IPL. The PEMRA blackout applies to BCCI properties (the IPL, India bilateral cricket) — not to ICC global events.
This is the editorial reason CricHD Guide treats the T20 World Cup as a genuine dual-region event and the IPL as an India-only one.
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