Arranging the numbers 22, 21, 23, 24, 21, 20, 23, 26 and 26 in increasing order, we get
20, 21, 21, 22, 23, 23, 24, 26, 26
Here, the frequencies 21, 23 and 24 is 2.
So, for 23 to be the mode of the data, the value of x should be 23.
Hence, the correct option is (c).