• 2026 T20 World Cup preview: Group C

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    Group C in the 2026 T20 World Cup is the only group to feature two two-time former champions – in England and the West Indies.

    Host India are the only other country to have won the T20 World Cup twice but they are in Group A. All three teams, though, will be out to make history in the sub-continent as they go in search of an unprecedented third title.

    Group C kicks off on the opening day as part of a triple-header of matches, with Scotland taking on the West Indies in Kolkata.

    Scotland will make their seventh appearance in the tournament, the joint most out of all the associate nations, while Nepal return for a third time after figuring in 2014 and 2024.

    And finally, Italy will become the 25th different national team to feature at a T20 World Cup, with the Europeans set to make their debut.

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    England

    Harry Brook’s side travel to India and Sri Lanka with outstanding T20 pedigree and are the only side to have reached at least the semi-finals of the last four tournaments.

    The 2010 and 2022 winners’ chances of making it five in a row are strengthened by the inclusion of superstar quick Jofra Archer, who has recovered from a side strain picked up during the recent Ashes.

    While the 30-year-old will bring blistering pace, Adil Rashid, playing in his fifth T20 World Cup, offers a different threat with his wily leg spin. The 37-year-old has taken at least one wicket in the last 22 T20Is in which he has bowled, the third longest streak in history.

    Sam Curran, Player of the Tournament in 2022, will have a lot to offer with both bat and ball and will be buoyed after taking England’s second-ever T20I hat-trick last month. Jacob Bethell’s ability both as a power hitter and as someone who can anchor an innings makes him dangerous, while world No 2 and 4 ranked batsmen Phil Salt and Jos Buttler need no introduction.

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    Italy

    Italy are the only debutants at this year’s T20 World Cup having qualified in second place in the 2025 Europe Regional Final.

    Gli Azzurri beat Group C rivals Scotland in the Regional Final to help book their place in India and Sri Lanka. Harry Manenti was the star of the show that day as he took 5-31 during the tense 12-run win, and he will no doubt be out to repeat such feats this month.

    Italy will be led by 42-year-old Wayne Madsen, a stalwart of the English county circuit, who recently impressed with 61* against Ireland ahead of the tournament.

    Nepal

    Former Australia batsman Stuart Law is head coach of a Nepal side who will be relishing the opportunity of mixing it with some of the best players in the world.

    Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh were their country’s highest scoring T20 players in 2025 with 509 and 394 runs respectively.

    The former is just one of five Nepalese players to hit a T20I century and hit a blistering 92* against USA in 2024.

    Vice-captain Dipendra Singh Airee is also a T20I centurion while Sandeep Lamichhane was Nepal’s leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps last year.

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    Scotland

    Scotland will make their fifth consecutive appearance at the T20 World Cup having last missed out in 2014.

    With 2021 marking the associate nation’s best World Cup showing – reaching the Super 12 stage – the Scots will harbour ambitions of upsetting one of the Test playing nations in Group C and progressing to the Super Eights.

    Scotland’s fortunes will rest on key players stepping up, of which Brandon McMullen is one. The 26-year-old has seven international fifties to his name, with three of those coming against Australia in 2024, including a brilliant 60 at the last T20 World Cup in a close defeat.

    Veteran captain Richie Berrington will offer Scotland bags of experience and has a T20I century to his name. Mark Watt, sat on 89 T20I wickets, could prove a tricky prospect for teams, and a strong tournament for the spinner could see him reach the 100-wicket landmark.

    West Indies

    After dominating the T20 World Cups during the middle part of the 2010s, a period in which they won two titles in 2012 and 2016, Carlos Brathwaite’s legendary exploits at Eden Gardens marks the last time the West Indies featured in a T20 World Cup knockout match.

    A Super Eights exit last time out on home soil will have been disappointing but Daren Sammy’s side are a team you can never count out.

    Shimron Hetmyer has found some form at just the right time with a series of impressive recent knocks against South Africa and Afghanistan, while skipper Shai Hope’s first T20I century – from the top of the order – last summer against Australia showed he can play a captain’s knock when required.

    In Brandon King, the West Indies have a second solid opener and success for the team from the Caribbean will hinge on him and Hope going well first up.

    With the ball, Akeal Hosein, the only West Indian ranked inside the Top 20 T20I bowlers at 11th, will be a handful with his slow left arm spin.

    Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

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    Lindiz Vanzilla