ICC approves major changes to ODI and T20 World Cup formats

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made significant changes to the formats of the 2027 ODI World Cup and the 2028 T20 World Cup. The new structures were approved at the ICC Annual General Meeting held in Edinburgh, Scotland, as announced in a press release.

2027 ODI World Cup
The 2027 ODI World Cup, co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, will feature 14 teams. The new format will have three stages before the semi-finals.

Stage 1: The three lowest-ranked teams will play a round-robin 'Super Series'. The champion of this phase will advance to the second stage.

Stage 2: That team will join the top 11 sides, making a total of 12 teams divided into two groups. The top three from each group, along with the next best team from both groups combined, will advance to the 'Super 7' phase.

Stage 3 – Super 7: The seven teams will play each other in a round-robin format. The top four teams after this phase will qualify for the semi-finals. The top team will face the fourth, while the second and third will meet in the other semi-final.

2028 T20 World Cup
The 2028 T20 World Cup, to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, will feature 20 teams.

Group Stage: The teams will be divided into five groups of four. The top two from each group will advance to the 'Super 10' phase.

Super 10: The 10 teams will be split into two groups. The top team from each group will directly qualify for the semi-finals.

Eliminator: The remaining two semi-final spots will be decided through a new 'Eliminator' phase. The second-placed team from each Super 10 group will play the third-placed team from the opposite group. The winners of the two Eliminator matches will advance to the semi-finals.

The semi-finals and final will follow the existing format.