English pair Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf will be in the middle for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Final between India and New Zealand in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on March 8 (Sunday).
Illingworth will take charge of his second consecutive Men’s T20 World Cup Final, having stood alongside Chris Gaffaney in 2024. It continues Illingworth’s impressive recent record of appointments, having also stood in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Final and the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 Final.
He is joined by compatriot Wharf, who will oversee his first senior ICC World Cup Final. Wharf previously stood at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 events before he joined the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Umpires last year.
The pair, who were together in the middle for New Zealand’s semi-final victory over South Africa on Wednesday, are supported by third umpire Allahuddien Paleker and fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock, while the match referee is Andy Pycroft.
South African Paleker was elevated to the Elite Panel of Umpires alongside Wharf in March 2025 and has stood in six matches during the tournament.
India and New Zealand will meet in the summit clash, having reached the end stage with victories in the recently concluded semi-finals round. While New Zealand defeated South Africa at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in a one-sided affair, India fought valiantly against England in a nerve-jangling thriller at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium to book their berth.
This will be the two teams’ first-ever meeting in a T20 World Cup final. With that, India and New Zealand become the only two teams to play each other in the finals of an ICC event across all formats.
T20 World Cup 2026 Final Match Officials: India vs New Zealand
- On-field Umpires: Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf
- Third Umpire: Allahuddien Paleker
- Fourth Umpire: Adrian Holdstock
- Match Referee: Andy Pycroft
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