England’s Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf will officiate as the on-field umpires for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Illingworth will officiate his second consecutive T20 World Cup final, having also stood alongside Chris Gaffaney during the 2024 decider in Barbados, where India defeated South Africa by seven runs. The latest appointment adds to Illingworth’s impressive run of marquee assignments, which include the finals of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
For Wharf, this will mark his first senior men’s World Cup final as an on-field umpire. The former England fast bowler had earlier officiated in the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup before being elevated to the International Cricket Council Elite Panel of Umpires last year.
Illingworth and Wharf were also in charge during New Zealand’s nine-wicket semi-final win over South Africa at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
South Africa’s Allahuddien Paleker will serve as the third umpire for the final, while England’s Adrian Holdstock has been named the fourth umpire. Andy Pycroft will take charge as the match referee.
Paleker, who joined the ICC Elite Panel alongside Wharf in March 2025, has officiated in six matches during the ongoing tournament.
Top-ranked India will be chasing their third T20 World Cup title and have the opportunity to become the first team to win back-to-back editions as well as the first to lift the trophy on home soil.
New Zealand, led by Mitchell Santner, enter the summit clash on the back of a dominant semi-final victory powered by Finn Allen’s record 33-ball century against South Africa in Kolkata, and will be aiming to secure their maiden Men’s T20 World Cup crown.