The 2027 ODI World Cup will be a three-stage competition leading to the finals and the 2028 T20 World Cup’s Super 8 phase will be expanded to accommodate 10 teams, the ICC announced on Wednesday as it unveiled a revamped structure for the marquee events to achieve “greater context and consequence”.
The decisions were taken at the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh.
The 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa will feature have 14 teams as planned before, up from the 10 in the previous edition, but the governing body has added a Super Series round prior to the ‘Group round’ and a Super 7 stage before the semifinals in its bid to spice up the competition.
2027 ODI World Cup Format
“…the revised format will entail a three-stage competition leading to the Finals, which creates greater context, competitiveness and consequence during the event, ensuring meaningful competition from the opening match through to the Finals,” said the ICC in a statement.
The teams that would qualify 12th to 14th for the tournament will play the Super Series round and the top finisher will progress to round two of the competition that will see six teams divided into two groups.
Top three teams from each group plus the next highest placed team across both groups will qualify for the Super 7 stage instead of the Super 6 planned earlier.
Four best-placed teams from the Super 7 stage will then progress to the semifinals.
“The increased consequence and enhanced competitive intensity promises to enhance the overall experience for fans while continuing to provide emerging teams with the opportunity to compete on cricket’s biggest stage,” said the ICC.
The tournament will feature 10 automatic qualifiers. Among the three co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe will be automatic qualifiers for being full members.
The third co-host, Namibia, has not received an automatic qualification as it is an associate member. The eight highest teams on the ODI rankings will complete the top 10 line-up.
The remaining four teams will be decided by a global qualifier.
