ICC Men’s T2o Cricket World Cup 2026: The ICC has announced the match officials for the group stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, with 24 umpires and six match referees appointed. Officials for the Super Eight and knockout stages will be named later. Kumar Dharmasena and Wayne Knights will serve as on-field umpires for the tournament opener between Pakistan and the Netherlands at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club. The match marks Knights’ first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup appearance, while Dharmasena adds to his extensive experience, having officiated 37 T20 World Cup matches, including the finals in 2016 and 2022.
Knights will officiate his 50th T20 International during the Group A clash.
In Kolkata, Nitin Menon and Sam Nogajski will umpire the Group C game between Scotland and the West Indies on the opening day. Menon was part of the on-field team for the 2024 semi-final between Afghanistan and South Africa, while Nogajski officiated four group matches in the previous edition, including India versus the USA.
India and the USA will meet later on Feb. 7 in Mumbai, with Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker as on-field umpires. Tucker, who has officiated 46 T20 World Cup matches, is expected to reach his 50th appearance during the tournament. He will also oversee matches including England versus Nepal, India against Namibia, and South Africa versus the UAE.
Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth, who officiated together in the 2024 final, will reunite for Australia versus Ireland in Group B on Feb. 11. Illingworth will also stand alongside Dharmasena in the high-profile India-Pakistan group match in Colombo on Feb. 15.
Match Referees: Dean Cosker, David Gilbert, Ranjan Madugalle, Andrew Pycroft, Richie Richardson, Javagal Srinath.
Umpires: Roland Black, Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Chris Gaffaney, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Wayne Knights, Donovan Koch, Jayaraman Madanagopal, Nitin Menon, Sam Nogajski, KNA Padmanabhan, Allahuddien Paleker, Ahsan Raza, Leslie Reifer, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Gazi Sohel, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharf, Raveendra Wimalasiri, Asif Yaqoob.
