India is chasing a record sixth title after losing last year’s final to Australia by 79 runs. Pakistan made it to the semi-finals in 2024 before falling to the eventual champions.
Bangladesh got to back-to-back finals, winning in 2020 and returning to the final in 2024. The tournament will run through January and February across Zimbabwe and Namibia, with 16 teams playing for glory.
Check out the complete schedule, squads, venues, and everything you need to know about the 2026 U19 World Cup.
When Is The 2026 ICC U19 World Cup?
The tournament runs from January 15 to February 6, 2026, across Zimbabwe and Namibia. Matches happen at Harare Sports Club, Takashinga Sports Club, and Queens Sports Club in Zimbabwe, plus the Namibia Cricket Ground and High Performance Oval in Windhoek.
The group stage lasts ten days with all 16 teams playing three matches each, then playoffs, Super Six knockouts, and semi-finals before the February 6 final at Harare Sports Club.
Tanzania is making its historic first appearance in the tournament, which expands the U19 World Cup’s global reach to include East African representation.
All Teams Playing The ICC U19 World Cup 2026
The 16-team setup splits nations into four groups, with the top three from each moving to Super Six stages where they face off in two groups of six. This way, every match matters and keeps the tournament fair throughout.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia U19 | India U19 | Zimbabwe U19 | Afghanistan U19 |
| Ireland U19 | Bangladesh U19 | Pakistan U19 | South Africa U19 |
| Japan U19 | USA U19 | England U19 | West Indies U19 |
| Sri Lanka U19 | New Zealand U19 | Scotland U19 | Tanzania U19 |
The groups were put together to keep rivals apart early on while building excitement through later stages. Teams that performed well in 2024 got in automatically, while others had to win regional qualifying rounds, so this ended up being a truly competitive field.
Full Schedule Of The 2026 ICC U19 World Cup
There are 41 matches across five venues in Zimbabwe and Namibia, with group matches running at the same time to keep everything fair. Every match kicks off at 9:30 AM local time, except for one afternoon game on January 30 at Dambulla.
| Date | Time (LOCAL) | Group / Stage | Match | Venue (Stadium, City) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 15 | 9:30 AM | Group A | USA U19 vs India U19 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 15 | 9:30 AM | Group B | Zimbabwe U19 vs Scotland U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 15 | 9:30 AM | Group D | Tanzania U19 vs West Indies U19 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 16 | 9:30 AM | Group B | Pakistan U19 vs England U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 16 | 9:30 AM | Group C | Australia U19 vs Ireland U19 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 16 | 9:30 AM | Group D | Afghanistan U19 vs South Africa U19 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 17 | 9:30 AM | Group A | India U19 vs Bangladesh U19 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 17 | 9:30 AM | Group C | Japan U19 vs Sri Lanka U19 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 18 | 9:30 AM | Group D | West Indies U19 vs Afghanistan U19 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 18 | 9:30 AM | Group B | England U19 vs Zimbabwe U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 18 | 9:30 AM | Group A | New Zealand U19 vs USA U19 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 19 | 9:30 AM | Group B | Pakistan U19 vs Scotland U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 19 | 9:30 AM | Group C | Sri Lanka U19 vs Ireland U19 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 19 | 9:30 AM | Group D | South Africa U19 vs Tanzania U19 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 20 | 9:30 AM | Group A | Bangladesh U19 vs New Zealand U19 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 20 | 9:30 AM | Group C | Australia U19 vs Japan U19 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 21 | 9:30 AM | Group B | England U19 vs Scotland U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 21 | 9:30 AM | Group D | Afghanistan U19 vs Tanzania U19 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 22 | 9:30 AM | Group D | West Indies U19 vs South Africa U19 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 22 | 9:30 AM | Group C | Ireland U19 vs Japan U19 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 22 | 9:30 AM | Group B | Zimbabwe U19 vs Pakistan U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 23 | 9:30 AM | Group A | Bangladesh U19 vs USA U19 | Takashinga Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 23 | 9:30 AM | Group C | Sri Lanka U19 vs Australia U19 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 24 | 9:30 AM | Group A | India U19 vs New Zealand U19 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 24 | 9:30 AM | Play-off | A4 vs D4 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 25 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 1 (AD) | D2 vs A3 | High Performance Oval, Windhoek |
| Jan 25 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 1 (AD) | A1 vs D3 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 26 | 9:30 AM | Play-off | B4 vs C4 | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 26 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 2 (BC) | C1 vs B2 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 26 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 1 (AD) | D1 vs A2 | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Jan 27 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 2 (BC) | C3 vs B1 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 27 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 2 (BC) | C2 vs B3 | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 28 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 1 (AD) | A1 vs D2 | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Jan 29 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 1 (AD) | D3 vs A2 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 30 | 1:00 PM | Super Six Group 1 (AD) | D1 vs A3 | Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, Dambulla |
| Jan 30 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 2 (BC) | B3 vs C1 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Jan 31 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 2 (BC) | B2 vs C3 | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Feb 1 | 9:30 AM | Super Six Group 2 (BC) | B1 vs C2 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Feb 3 | 9:30 AM | Semi Final 1 | AD1 vs BC2 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo |
| Feb 4 | 9:30 AM | Semi Final 2 | BC1 vs AD2 | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
| Feb 6 | 9:30 AM | Final | TBC vs TBC | Harare Sports Club, Harare |
The Super Six stage really changes how things work, putting group winners against each other while teams that finished lower drop into their own tournaments, which makes everything get more intense from day nine onwards. Tanzania’s first appearance matters right from the start, taking on the West Indies on opening day and then playing Afghanistan and South Africa in their tournament debut.
Squad List Of Teams In The ICC U19 World Cup 2026
1. Afghanistan U19
Yet to be announced
2. Ireland U19
Olly Riley (c), Reuben Wilson, Alex Armstrong, Callum Armstrong, Marko Bates, Sebastian Dijkstra, Thomas Ford, Samuel Haslett, Adam Leckey, Febin Manoj, Luke Murray, Robert O’Brien, Freddie Ogilby, James West, Bruce Whaley
Non-Travelling Reserves: Peter le Roux, William Shields
3. USA U19
Yet to be announced
4. Australia U19
Oliver Peake (c), Kasey Barton, Naden Cooray, Jayden Draper, Ben Gordon, Steven Hogan, Thomas Hogan, John James, Charles Lachmund, Will Malajczuk, Nitesh Samuel, Hayden Schiller, Aryan Sharma, William Taylor, Alex Lee Young
5. Bangladesh U19
Yet to be announced
6. England U19
Thomas Rew (c), Farhan Ahmed, Ralphie Albert, Ben Dawkins, Caleb Falconer, Ali Farooq, Alex French, Alex Green, Luke Hands, Manny Lumsden, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Isaac Mohammed, Joe Moores, Sebastian Morgan
7. India U19
Ayush Mhatre (c), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, D. Deepesh, Mohamed Enaan, Aaron George, Abhigyan Kundu, Kishan Kumar Singh, Vihaan Malhotra, Udhav Mohan, Henil Patel, Khilan A. Patel, Harvansh Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi
8. Sri Lanka U19
Yet to be announced
9. New Zealand U19
Tom Jones (c), Marco Alpe, Hugo Bogue, Harry Burns, Mason Clarke, Jacob Cotter, Aryan Mann, Brandon Matzopoulos, Flynn Morey, Snehith Reddy, Callum Samson, Jaskaran Sandhu, Selwin Sanjay, Hunter Shore, Harry Waite
10. Pakistan U19
Farhan Yousaf (c), Usman Khan (vc), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan (wk), Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas, Umar Zaib.
Non-traveling reserves: Abdul Qadir, Farhanullah, Hassan Khan, Ibtisam Azhar, Mohammad Huzaifa
11. South Africa U19
Muhammad Bulbulia (c), JJ Basson, Daniel Bosman, Corne Botha, Paul James, Enathi Khitshini Tembalethu, Michael Kruiskamp, Adnaan Lagadien, Bayanda Majola, Armaan Manack, Bandile Mbatha, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, Jason Rowles, Ntandoyenkosi Soni, Jorich van Schalkwyk
12. Scotland U19
Thomas Knight (c), Finlay Carter, Max Chaplin, George Cutler, Rory Grant, Finlay Jones, Ollie Jones, Ali Khan, Olly Pillinger, Ethan Ramsay, Theo Robinson, Manu Saraswat, Shreyas Tekale, Shlok Thaker, Jake Woodhouse
13. West Indies U19
Joshua Dorne (c), Jewel Andrew, Shamar Apple, Shaquan Belle, Zachary Carter, Tanez Francis, R’jai Gittens, Vitel Lawes, Micah McKenzie, Matthew Miller, Isra-el Morton, Jakeem Pollard, Aadian Racha, Kunal Tilokani, Jonathan Van Lange
Reserves: Brendan Boodoo, Tyriek Bryan, Earsinho Fontaine, Deshawn James
14. Zimbabwe U19
Simbarashe Mudzengerere (c), Kian Blignaut, Michael Blignaut, Leeroy Chiwaula, Tatenda Chimugoro, Brendon Senzere, Nathaniel Hlabangana, Takudzwa Makoni, Panashe Mazai, Webster Madhidhi, Shelton Mazvitorera, Kupakwashe Muradzi, Brandon Ndiweni, Dhruv Patel, Benny Zuze
15. Japan U19
Kazuma Kato-Stafford (c), Charles Hara-Hinze, Gabriel Hara-Hinze, Montgomery Hara-Hinze, Kaisei Kobayashi-Doggett, Timothy Moore, Skyler Nakayama-Cook, Ryuki Ozeki, Nihar Parmar, Nikhil Pol, Chihaya Sekine, Hugo Tani-Kelly, Sandev Aaryan Waduge, Kai Wall, Taylor Waugh
16. Tanzania U19
Yet to be announced
Where To Watch The 2026 ICC U19 World Cup
The tournament will be on television and online through deals with big broadcasters across the world. Regular TV channels in countries that love cricket will show matches live, and streaming services will let people watch online from anywhere.
Local broadcasters across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas will show matches in their own languages and at times that work for their viewers. You can find live scores, stats, and match breakdowns on the ICC’s website.
After the matches finish, highlights will be out quickly on TV networks and social media, so people who couldn’t watch live can see what happened.
Related Reads:
Conclusion: The 2026 ICC U19 World Cup Starts In January 2026 With 16 Teams In 4 Groups
The 2026 ICC U19 World Cup will be exciting cricket across January and February in Zimbabwe and Namibia as defending champion Australia tries to win back-to-back titles while India chases a record sixth crown.
Tanzania’s first appearance alongside 15 other established cricket nations means the tournament will show off young talent competing for international prizes across 41 matches at five venues.
The format makes sure every match counts for something and builds excitement as the tournament moves toward the final at Harare Sports Club.
This tournament is another big moment in U19 World Cup history, as it is the place where international cricket finds its future stars.
FAQs
The tournament starts January 15, 2026, across five venues in Zimbabwe and Namibia, with the first matches having the USA against India, Zimbabwe facing Scotland, and Tanzania playing West Indies.
Australia won the 2024 tournament by beating India by 79 runs in the final, with Mahli Beardman getting player of the match for his exceptional bowling.
Sixteen teams are split into four groups of four, with the top three from each group moving to the Super Six phases, where they compete in two groups of six before the semi-finals and the final.
Tanzania is playing in its first-ever U19 World Cup in 2026, which marks its historic debut and big growth for East African cricket.
The final happens on February 6, 2026, at Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe, where a 50-over ODI match decides the winner between the two teams that win the semi-finals.
