World Championship of Legends 2026 Schedule, Teams, Squads, Fixtures, Dates, Venues and More

The World Championship of Legends 2026, also known as WCL Season 3, will be played in the United Arab Emirates from 3 to 18 October 2026. Seven Champions teams representing India, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, England, West Indies and Bangladesh will compete in the T20 tournament. Bangladesh Champions are the new addition for Season 3.

The tournament will be staged at Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Each team will play six league matches in a single round-robin competition, producing 21 league games. The top four teams will then advance to the semi-finals on 16 October, followed by the final on 18 October. WCL’s official schedule lists 24 matches in total.

The opening match is India Champions vs Australia Champions in Sharjah on 3 October, while the much-anticipated India Champions vs Pakistan Champions fixture is scheduled for 10 October at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. South Africa Champions enter Season 3 as the defending champions after winning the 2025 edition.

World Championship of Legends 2026 Overview

WCL’s official website confirms the 3–18 October tournament window, seven-team field, 24-match programme and UAE venues.

Participating Teams

Seven teams will participate in World Championship of Legends 2026:

1. India Champions
2. Pakistan Champions
3. South Africa Champions
4. Australia Champions
5. England Champions
6. West Indies Champions
7. Bangladesh Champions

The first six teams have participated in previous WCL editions. Bangladesh Champions are the new team for Season 3 and will make their WCL debut in 2026.

India Champions won the inaugural 2024 edition, while South Africa Champions won the 2025 tournament. Pakistan Champions finished runners-up in both previous finals.

World Championship of Legends 2026 Complete Schedule

The official WCL schedule lists 21 league matches, followed by two semi-finals and the grand final. Local UAE times are used below.

The official WCL ticket page also confirms the opening match, India-Pakistan fixture and 18 October grand final at Sharjah, with the final scheduled for 3:30 PM UAE time.

For Indian viewers, the regular 3:30 PM UAE matches start at 5:00 PM IST, while 7:30 PM UAE matches start at 9:00 PM IST.

Venues

World Championship of Legends 2026 will use two UAE venues.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the opening match, the majority of the league fixtures, both semi-finals and the final. The official schedule lists 18 matches at Sharjah.

Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host six league matches from 9 to 11 October, including the India Champions vs Pakistan Champions fixture on 10 October.

Team Squads

The official WCL team pages list the Season 3 players for all seven teams. The lists below use those current official team pages rather than predicted squads.

India Champions Squad

Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Mohit Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Varun Aaron, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Piyush Chawla, Stuart Binny, Rishi Dhawan and Abhimanyu Mithun.

Pakistan Champions Squad

Kamran Akmal, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umer Amin, Asif Afridi, Amir Yamin, Sohail Tanveer, Mohammed Amir, Wahab Riaz and Ruman Raees.

South Africa Champions Squad

AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Albie Morkel, Hardus Viljoen, Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir, Richard Levi, Dane Vilas, SJ Erwee, Duanne Olivier, Morne van Wyk, Aaron Phangiso, Colin Ingram and JP Duminy.

Australia Champions Squad

Chris Lynn, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, D’Arcy Short, Ben Dunk, Kane Richardson, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson, Fawad Ahmed, Ben Laughlin, Rob Quiney, Nathan Reardon and Andrew Tye.

England Champions Squad

Jason Roy, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Phil Mustard, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, James Anderson, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Monty Panesar, Tim Ambrose, Joe Denly and Stuart Meaker.

West Indies Champions Squad

Chris Gayle, Chadwick Walton, Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher, Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Rayad Emrit, Sulieman Benn, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Nikita Miller and Dave Mohammed.

Bangladesh Champions Squad

Mahmudullah Riyad, Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Rony Talukder, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Ziaur Rahman, Enamul Haque Jr., Jahurul Islam Omi, Shuvagata Hom, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi and Mohammad Ashraful.

Bangladesh’s squad represents the team’s debut season in WCL, with Mahmudullah Riyad and Mohammad Ashraful among the players associated with the new franchise.

Team Captains

The official WCL website explicitly identifies David Warner as the Season 3 captain of Australia Champions.

The current official team pages checked do not consistently display captain designations for all seven teams. Therefore, the remaining captaincy positions are not listed here as confirmed rather than being inferred from previous seasons.

Tournament Format

World Championship of Legends 2026 will be played as a T20 competition.

The seven teams will play a single round-robin league, meaning every team faces each of the other six teams once. This creates 21 league matches.

After the league stage:

• The top four teams qualify for the semi-finals.
• 1st place plays 4th place.
• 2nd place plays 3rd place.
• The two semi-final winners meet in the final.
• The final is scheduled for 18 October at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

This structure results in 24 matches overall: 21 league matches, two semi-finals and one final.

Important Rules

The confirmed competition structure establishes the round-robin league and four-team knockout stage. The official sources checked do not provide a separate detailed Season 3 rules document covering every playing-condition provision.

Therefore, tournament-specific details such as points allocation, net run-rate calculations and any special tie-break provisions should not be presented as confirmed beyond the published competition structure.

Previous Edition

The previous WCL edition was played in 2025.

South Africa Champions won the 2025 title after defeating Pakistan Champions by nine wickets in the final. Pakistan had reached the final after finishing the league stage with four wins from five completed matches.

The 2025 final was played at Edgbaston in England. South Africa chased Pakistan’s 195/5 successfully, with AB de Villiers making an unbeaten 120 from 60 balls and JP Duminy finishing unbeaten on 50.

2025 Final

• Pakistan Champions: 195/5
• South Africa Champions: reached the target in 16.5 overs
• Result: South Africa Champions won by nine wickets
• Venue: Edgbaston
• Top scorer: AB de Villiers – 120*
• Other major contribution: JP Duminy – 50*

South Africa therefore enter Season 3 as the defending WCL champions.

Defending Champions

South Africa Champions are the defending World Championship of Legends champions.

They won the 2025 final against Pakistan Champions by nine wickets. AB de Villiers was central to that victory, scoring 120 not out from 60 balls during the successful chase.

South Africa’s official Season 3 squad again includes AB de Villiers, alongside Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell, Albie Morkel and other members of the Champions setup.

Their title defence begins on 4 October, when they face West Indies Champions at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Previous Season Runner-Up

Pakistan Champions were the runners-up in the 2025 WCL final.

Pakistan have now finished runners-up in both previous WCL finals: they lost to India Champions in the inaugural 2024 final and to South Africa Champions in 2025.

Pakistan return for Season 3 with a squad including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and other former international players.

Key Players to Watch

Yuvraj Singh – India Champions

Yuvraj Singh is among the headline names for India Champions and remains one of the team’s featured Season 3 players. India Champions are the inaugural WCL champions from 2024.

Shahid Afridi – Pakistan Champions

Shahid Afridi is one of the leading names in the Pakistan Champions squad and is among the players highlighted by WCL ahead of Season 3.

AB de Villiers – South Africa Champions

AB de Villiers returns for the defending champions. He scored 431 runs during the 2025 WCL season and made an unbeaten 120 in the final against Pakistan.

David Warner – Australia Champions

David Warner is the headline addition to Australia Champions for Season 3 and has been confirmed as the team’s captain. His first WCL 2026 appearance is scheduled against India Champions in the opening match.

Moeen Ali – England Champions

Moeen Ali returns as one of England Champions’ featured players for the UAE edition. He is part of the official 14-player Season 3 squad.

Chris Gayle – West Indies Champions

Chris Gayle is among the most recognisable players in the West Indies Champions squad and is again part of the team’s Season 3 lineup.

Mahmudullah Riyad – Bangladesh Champions

Mahmudullah Riyad is the featured player for Bangladesh Champions, who are making their WCL debut in Season 3.

Key Matches

India Champions vs Australia Champions

The opening match of WCL 2026 will feature India Champions and Australia Champions on 3 October at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. David Warner is set to lead Australia Champions in his first WCL campaign.

India Champions vs Pakistan Champions

The India-Pakistan fixture is scheduled for 10 October at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, starting at 7:30 PM UAE time. It is Match 14 of the league stage.

South Africa Champions vs Pakistan Champions

The defending champions meet the previous-season runners-up on 12 October at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals will be played on 16 October at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with first vs fourth and second vs third.

Grand Final

The WCL 2026 final is scheduled for 18 October at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The finalists will be determined after the semi-finals.

Records and History

The World Championship of Legends began in 2024.

WCL Champions

India Champions won the inaugural tournament in 2024, while South Africa Champions claimed the 2025 title. Pakistan Champions reached both finals.

The 2026 edition introduces Bangladesh Champions as the seventh team. The official WCL team page identifies Bangladesh as a Season 3 debutant with no Season 2 record.

Important Dates

The official WCL schedule confirms the tournament window and knockout dates.

What to Expect

World Championship of Legends 2026 brings the competition to the UAE for Season 3, with Sharjah and Dubai replacing the UK venues used for the first two editions. The seven-team field includes the six previous national Champions sides plus Bangladesh Champions, who make their debut.

South Africa Champions arrive as defending champions after defeating Pakistan in the 2025 final. India Champions are the inaugural 2024 champions, while Pakistan have finished runners-up in both previous editions.

The league structure gives every team six matches before the top four advance to the semi-finals. The India Champions vs Pakistan Champions fixture is scheduled for 10 October in Dubai, while the final is set for 18 October in Sharjah.

The Season 3 squads include several prominent former international players, including Yuvraj Singh, Shahid Afridi, AB de Villiers, David Warner, Moeen Ali, Chris Gayle and Mahmudullah Riyad.

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