Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to play 18 ODIs this year:Team India’s complete schedule in 2026, T20 World Cup to Asian Games

After 2025, which was a memorable year for Indian cricket, fans have plenty to look forward to in 2026, which promises plenty more action and thrill. It was a year of highs and lows for the Indian cricket team in 2025, which experienced the joys of winning multi-nation tournaments and also suffered the hurt of faltering in Test cricket. Indian cricket has a packed calendar for 2026, with several interesting tournaments and bilateral cricket matches in line. The year is a crucial one for Team India, as preparations would be underway for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which is to be played in South Africa and a tournament that has been speculated to be Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s last bow in ICC competitions. India vs New Zealand (3 ODIs, five T20Is)- January 2026
India’s cricketing action in 2026 will start off by hosting New Zealand at home. The Men in Blue will host the Black Caps for three ODIs and five T20Is. India’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand will start on 11 January. The five-match T20I series will follow and will start on 21 January. T20 World Cup 2026- February to March 2026 The Men in Blue will have their sights firmly set on the T20 World Cup, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka. This is Team India’s next assignment in 2026 and it surely promises to be a blockbuster one. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side are the defending champions after the team captained by Rohit Sharma had lifted the title in 2024. India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, USA, Netherlands and Namibia. Also read: Defining year for Indian cricket and chess: From RCB’s IPL title, Divya Deshmukh’s WC glory; Why 2025 was ‘year of firsts for sports’
IPL 2026- March to May 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) The T20 World Cup will be followed by the IPL, which means cricket fans in India will be in for non-stop action in the shortest format. The tournament, whose schedule is yet to be announced, is expected to start towards the end of March. The final will be played on 31 May.
India vs Afghanistan (3 ODIs and 1 Test)- June 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) India will continue to play at home as they reportedly host Afghanistan for three ODIs and 1 Test match. The schedule for India’s probable home series against Afghanistan has not been announced yet, but it is surely going to be an exciting one. India and Afghanistan have not played much bilateral cricket in recent times and hence, this might be a tour that fans could look forward to. Also, this would just be the second time that India would play a Test match against Afghanistan, the first one coming way back in 2018, when the team then led by Virat Kohli had won.
India vs England (5 T20Is and 3 ODIs)- July 2026 India are set to tour England for white-ball competition in July 2026. The Men in Blue will compete against England in five T20Is and it will be followed by three ODIs. India are the top-ranked T20I team and it will be interesting to see how they perform against England in away conditions. Meanwhile, the three ODIs might be the last time that fans could get to witness Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in action in England and hence, it is something to look forward to.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka (2 Tests)- August 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) India are reportedly set to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series in August 2026. While India have been invincible in white-ball cricket, they have not had much success in Test cricket. How India play spin on turning tracks in their probable Test series in Sri Lanka is something that fans would be looking forward to. Also read: Records broken by Virat Kohli in 2025:Fastest Indian to score 14,000 ODI runs, completes 1,000 runs in ICC knockouts India vs Afghanistan (3 T20Is)- September 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) India are likely to take on Afghanistan in three T20Is after their Test series in Sri Lanka. Afghanistan have produced some fascinating results in T20I cricket in the past few years and India will not take them lightly. The schedule for India’s probable three-match T20I series against Afghanistan is yet to be announced. Asian Games- September 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) India will look to defend their gold medal at the Asian Games 2026. This edition of the continental competition will be held in Japan. In the last edition, India had bagged gold after their final against Afghanistan was called off due to rain in Hangzhou on the virtue of being higher in the T20I rankings. With T20 cricket having evolved big time in the past three editions, the competition is expected to be pretty interesting this time around. The schedule of the cricket event at the Asian Games 2026 has not been announced yet. Also read: Bumrah remains on top in Test rankings, Starc second: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli continue to dominate ICC ODI rankings India vs West Indies (3 ODIs and 5 T20Is)- September 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) Cricketing action in September will continue as Team India will host the West Indies at home for three ODIs and five T20Is. The probable schedule for the West Indies’ tour of India has not been announced yet. India vs New Zealand (2 Tests, 3 ODIs)- October 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) After hosting the West Indies at home, India will reportedly take a trip to New Zealand to take on the Kiwis in two Tests and three ODIs. Playing in New Zealand is always a challenging ask and it will indeed be a stern Test for Team India. Also read: From Asia Cup handshake, trophy row to RCB stampede: Top 10 cricket controversies that highlighted 2025; when sport made headlines for wrong reasons India vs Sri Lanka (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is)- December 2026 (Schedule yet to be announced) The Men in Blue will conclude the year by hosting Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is. The schedule for these two series are yet to be announced. India and Sri Lanka have had pretty fascinating contests in the limited overs formats, the Super Over in the Asia Cup 2025 being an example) and these matches, undoubtedly, will be something that fans will look forward to.