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Cricket’s shortest international format will take centre stage over the next month as the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 gets under way on February 7.

Five stadiums across India and three in Sri Lanka will host matches, as 20 teams fight for the world title.

Here’s everything you need to know about the venues:

Narendra Modi Stadium

Location: Ahmedabad, India
Capacity: 132,000
Inauguration: 1983
Fixtures: South Africa vs Canada (February 9), South Africa vs Afghanistan (February 11), New Zealand vs South Africa (February 14), India vs Netherlands (February 18), Super 8s Match 3 (February 22), Super 8s Match 7 (February 26), Final (March 8)

The world’s largest cricket stadium is designated to host seven matches, including the final and two Super 8s fixtures.

Before it was renamed after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the venue was known as the Motera Stadium or the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, after one of India’s best-known independence leaders.

The 2023 ODI World Cup final, in which India lost to Australia, was the biggest international match held at this venue.

The stadium has hosted several political events and rallies, too, including the “Namaste Trump” event in honour of United States President Donald Trump, back in 2020.

Wankhede Stadium

Location: Mumbai, India
Capacity: 33,100
Inauguration: 1974
Fixtures: India vs USA (February 7), England vs Nepal (February 8), England vs West Indies (February 11), Nepal vs Italy (February 12), West Indies vs Nepal (February 15), Scotland vs Nepal (February 17), Super 8s Match 4 (February 23), Semifinal 2 (March 5)

Located in the coastal city of Mumbai, the Wankhede Stadium is no stranger to high-stakes matches. It hosted the 2011 ODI World Cup final, in which India beat Sri Lanka to lift its second world title.

The venue, also the home ground of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, will host the most games (eight) in India during the tournament, including a semifinal.

Though smaller in size than most of India’s popular stadiums, the Wankhede’s passionate crowd consistently creates one of the best atmospheres.

Eden Gardens

Location: Kolkata, India
Capacity: 68,000
Inauguration: 1864
Fixtures: West Indies vs Scotland (February 7), Scotland vs Italy (February 9), England vs Scotland (February 14), England vs Italy (February 16), West Indies vs Italy (February 19), Super 8s Match 12 (March 1), Semifinal 1 (provisional, March 4)

Known as the “home of Indian cricket”, Eden Gardens is the oldest cricket stadium in the country. The venue will host seven matches at the tournament, including possibly the first semifinal.

The first purpose-built ground for the sport in India, Eden Gardens, has hosted matches during five ICC World Cups, including the finals of the 1987 ODI and 2016 T20 World Cups.

It is also the home ground of the IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders since 2008.

Arun Jaitley Stadium

Location: New Delhi, India
Capacity: 55,000
Inauguration: 1883
Fixtures: Netherlands vs Namibia (February 10), India vs Namibia (February 12), Canada vs UAE (February 13), Afghanistan vs UAE (February 16), South Africa vs UAE (February 18), Super 8s Match 11 (March 1)

Situated in India’s capital, New Delhi, the Arun Jaitley Stadium has hosted matches at five World Cups. At this tournament, the venue will host six games, including a Super 8s fixture.

Formerly known as the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, the venue was renamed after a former finance minister and parliamentarian from PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, following his death in 2019.

It is the home of the IPL team Delhi Capitals.

M A Chidambaram Stadium

Location: Chennai, India
Capacity: 38,200
Inauguration: 1916
Fixtures: New Zealand vs Afghanistan (February 8), New Zealand vs UAE (February 10), USA vs Netherlands (February 13), USA vs Namibia (February 15), New Zealand vs Canada (February 17), Afghanistan vs Canada (February 19), Super 8s Match 8 (February 26)

Located close to one of the longest urban beaches in the world – Chennai’s Marina Beach along the Bay of Bengal – the M A Chidambaram Stadium is known for being home to a sporting and knowledgeable cricket crowd.

Named after former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, M A Chidambaram, the venue is commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium. Home of the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise, the stadium has hosted matches across four ODI World Cups.

At this edition, it will host seven games, including a Super 8s tie.

R Premadasa Stadium

Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Capacity: 35,000
Inauguration: 1986
Fixtures: Sri Lanka vs Ireland (February 8), Australia vs Ireland (February 11), Australia vs Zimbabwe (February 13), India vs Pakistan (February 15), Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe (February 19), Super 8s Match 1 (February 21), Super 8s Match 6 (February 25), Super 8s Match 9 (February 27)

The largest stadium in Sri Lanka, the R Premadasa Stadium, will host a majority of the heavyweight fixtures at the tournament, including India vs Pakistan, the most anticipated clash at any ICC event.

The venue is scheduled to host eight games, including three Super 8s fixtures, but two more could be added to its list.

If Pakistan qualifies for the semifinals, the R Premadasa Stadium, considered a neutral venue, will replace Kolkata as the host of the first semifinal. If Pakistan reach the final, that venue will also shift from Ahmedabad to Colombo.

As per an ICC-brokered agreement between India and Pakistan, both countries have the option to play their games at a neutral venue for a tournament hosted by either South Asian nations.

Sinhalese Sports Club

Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Capacity: 10,000
Inauguration: 1952
Fixtures: Pakistan vs Netherlands (February 7), Zimbabwe vs Oman (February 9), Pakistan vs USA (February 10), Ireland vs Oman (February 14), Pakistan vs Namibia (February 18)

The smallest venue at the tournament, the Sinhalese Sports Club, will host the fewest matches (five), but features the all-important opening match between former champions Pakistan and the West Indies.

Situated only 5km (3.1 miles) away from the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the venue will host a World Cup for only the second time, following its maiden attempt at the 1996 ODI World Cup.

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Location: Kandy, Sri Lanka
Capacity: 35,000
Inauguration: 2009
Fixtures: Sri Lanka vs Oman (February 12), Australia vs Sri Lanka (February 16), Ireland vs Zimbabwe (February 17), Australia vs Oman (February 20), Super 8s Match 2 (February 22), Super 8s Match 5 (February 24), Super 8s Match 10 (February 28)

The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium rounds out the full list of venues at the T20 World Cup 2026. It will host seven games, including three Super 8s matches.

Opened 17 years ago, it is the newest of all venues at this year’s tournament. Situated in central Sri Lanka, the stadium was built for the 2011 ODI World Cup and also used at the 2012 T20 World Cup.

Dovish. Judicious. A chameleon.

Those are just some of the terms being used to describe Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, will replace Jerome Powell after his term ends in May. Trump announced Warsh as his nominee on Friday.

“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site. “On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down.”

Over the past year, Trump has repeatedly lambasted Powell for not lowering interest rates at a pace and to a level of his liking. Warsh is expected to have a smoother experience – at least initially.

That’s partly because he comes from a Republican milieu. His father-in-law is Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune and a longtime Trump donor and ally.

Warsh is also currently serving as a fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University, where he also lectures as a visiting scholar.

But more importantly, critics say, Warsh has shown a willingness to align with Trump’s policies. After years of supporting high interest rates to control inflation, Warsh has made recent statements arguing for lower rates, in line with the president’s views.

A history of ‘shape-shifting’

It is this flexibility that has prompted a mixed bag of reactions to Warsh’s nomination.

“He’s a very good chameleon,” said Skanda Amarnath, executive director of Employ America, a policy research organisation. “He comes across as informed and intellectual, but when you unpack what he says, there’s not a lot there.”

Amarnath’s criticism was based on years of observing Warsh’s policy stance.

Warsh, 55, joined the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in 2006 at age 35, after serving on former President George W Bush’s National Economic Council. He remained at the Fed until 2011, during which time he worked with then-Chair Ben Bernanke to address the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

That crisis saw the collapse of financial services firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Warsh notably objected to some of the low-interest policies that the Fed was pursuing at the time to stave off the impact of the crash.

During that period, he “spent most of his time worrying about inflation”, according to Amarnath. “Even in August 2008, he was talking about inflation as Lehman Brothers failed. He missed the whole boat on that.”

Amarnath said Warsh appeared to downplay the unemployment at the time as well, even though the jobless rate was headed towards 10 percent. Today, unemployment in the US is at a healthy 4.4 percent.

Warsh started softening his stance on inflation in 2017, when Trump began his first term as president. Amarnath told Al Jazeera that Warsh’s seeming partisanship gives him “some concern” about what might happen in case of another financial crisis.

“His track record speaks to someone who is pretty partisan and political in his views and mocks data dependence,” he said. “The shape-shifting depends on who is in office.”

A ‘political’ record

Some experts, however, were more optimistic about Warsh as a candidate for the top seat at the Federal Reserve.

Economist Robert Rogowsky, a professor of trade and economic diplomacy at Georgetown University, is among those who think that Warsh is a “solid pick, albeit not a stellar one”.

“He is obviously extremely bright and has a solid record of accomplishment in the area,” he said.

That said, Rogowsky acknowledged that Warsh could be seen as a political opportunist. “His record does seem a bit political – a monetary hawk under a Democratic administration and being promoted by Trump to be Trump’s monetary dove.”

Still, Rogowsky said he is not too worried about Warsh falling in line with Trump’s aggressive push to lower interest rates.

While the Fed chair is a very powerful role, it only represents one vote on a board of seven, and it cannot override the majority vote. And though Warsh “may sound Trumpy”, Rogowsky believes he will ultimately refuse to implement Trump’s “extreme and extremely harmful” interest rate cuts.

“He is smart enough – and, I pray, honorable enough – to be driven by his economic training,” Rogowsky said.

Trump has called on the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates from their current level – about 3.75 percent – to 1 percent, a major drop.

Rogowsky said Warsh is aware that such a policy move would result in “a medium-term inflationary disaster”, which, in turn, could lead to “an immediately disastrous decline in the dollar and a five-alarm fire in the global trading system”.

Trump’s trade policies will already pose a big challenge for any incoming Federal Reserve chair, according to Rachel Ziemba, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank.

Ziemba pointed out that Trump has pursued an aggressive international trade policy and immigration crackdown that could send shudders through the US economy. Currently, while economic growth is “OK”, there is little job growth, she added.

“Rate cuts are unlikely to solve those issues,” Ziemba told Al Jazeera.

For now, it remains unclear whether Warsh will ultimately take up the post. He faces a Senate confirmation hearing in the coming months, where Trump’s policies could also be a hurdle.

Already, at least one Republican senator, Thom Tillis, said he would not back any Trump nominees to the Federal Reserve until the president drops his criminal investigation of Powell.