India enters 2026 after a mixed sporting year in 2025, with women’s cricket, men’s format transitions and a crowded global calendar drawing attention. For Prelims, the key facts are the 2025 women’s World Cup win, the 2026 FIFA World Cup expansion, and major multi-sport events due in 2026.
Women’s sport in India
- Women athletes have performed strongly across wrestling, boxing, shooting, archery, badminton and squash.
- Women’s cricket has become a central part of India’s sporting structure.
- The 2025 women’s cricket World Cup title marked a major milestone in Indian cricket.
- The win strengthened the case for greater broadcasting, sponsorship and institutional support for women’s sport.
Men’s cricket in transition
- Indian men’s cricket is in a phase of generational change across formats.
- Shubman Gill rose rapidly to Test captaincy.
- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket.
- Both players continued in One Day Internationals after their Test retirements.
- The T20 format remains the busiest part of India’s cricket calendar.
2026 cricket calendar
- India is scheduled to host 146 T20 matches in the first half of 2026.
- This includes a record-sized Indian Premier League season.
- India is also set to host the men’s T20 World Cup in 2026.
- The men’s T20 World Cup will test India’s balance between workload management and results.
Major global events in 2026
- The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
- The tournament has been expanded to 48 teams.
- The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be scaled down.
- The Asian Games in Japan will be another major test for India after the 100-medal mark in Hangzhou.
Prelims facts to remember
- The FIFA World Cup 2026 host countries are the United States, Mexico and Canada.
- The FIFA World Cup format has been expanded to 48 teams.
- India’s women’s cricket World Cup win came in 2025.
- Test cricket remains the longest format, while T20 is the shortest international format.