Dubai, July 16:
The International Cricket Council on Wednesday made a slight change to the formats of 2027 ODI World Cup and 2028 T20 World Cup, aimed at “enhancing consequences” in both the competitions.
The decisions were taken at the ICC Annual Conference here.
The 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa would have 14 teams as planned before, up from the 10 in the previous edition, but the governing body has added a Super Series and Super 7 stage in its bid to spice up the competition.
“The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will see the participation of 14 eligible teams but 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 Super Series will be played between three teams and one of them will be progress to round two of the competition that will see six teams divided into two groups. Top 3 teams from each group plus the next highest placed team across both groups qualify for the Super 7 (instead of the Super 6 planned earlier).
Four teams from the Super 7 stage 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.
For the T20 showpiece in the Australia and New Zealand in 2028, the ICC has decided to try Super 10 instead of the Super 8 after the Group stage. Five groups of four teams will be created and top two from each enter the Super 10.
Instead of top two teams from each Super 8 group making the semifinals in the last edition, only the one that tops the table in each group enters the last four. Teams placed second in groups play in the eliminator against the teams placed third in the opposite group, adding another layer to the competition.
“Encouraged by the performance of emerging teams in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, the ICC has decided to increase the number of teams competing in the second stage of the tournament from 8 to 10,” said the ICC.
Scotland will enter directly into the Europe Regional Final, recognising the exceptional circumstances surrounding its participation in the 2026 tournament, having replaced Bangladesh in the 11th hour.
The remaining teams that competed at the T20 World Cup 2026 but did not secure automatic qualification will advance directly to the Global Qualifier.
The other eight places in the Global Qualifier will be filled through regional qualification, with two teams each qualifying from Africa, Asia and Europe, and one team each from the Americas and East Asia-Pacific regions.
The highest placed team from each region at the Global Qualifier, together with the next three highest-placed teams overall, will qualify for the T20 World Cup 2028.
“The new marquee tournament has been endorsed by the Board after being recommended by the ICC Development and Chief Executives’ Committees. However, it will be finally approved by the Board after review by ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs committee in the November meetings,” the ICC added.