ICC makes major changes to the format of the ODI and T20 World Cups

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made major changes to the format of the men’s ODI and T20 World Cups. An extra round has been added to both editions of the World Cup to increase the competition and appeal of the tournaments.

The new format was officially announced on Wednesday at the end of the ICC’s annual meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ICC said the changes were made “to create more meaningful matches, raise the standard of competition and make the tournament experience more exciting for players and spectators.”

Below are the details of the new formats and rules for the ODI and T20 World Cups:

ODI World Cup: Teams are growing, ‘Super 7’ round is being added

The new rules are likely to come into effect from the ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in October-November next year (2027). While the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups were held with 10 teams, this time the number of teams is being increased to 14. This is the first time since 2015 that a 14-team ODI World Cup will be played. The entire tournament will be completed in four rounds:

• First Round: The teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th in the ICC rankings will participate in this round. From here, only the top team will get a ticket to play in the main phase (second round).

• Second Round (Group Stage): The teams that qualified from the first round will be joined directly by the 11 teams from the main stage. A total of 12 teams will be divided into two groups (6 teams per group). The top three teams from each of the two groups and the next best team from both groups combined—a total of 7 teams—will advance to the next round.

• Super 7: The previous ‘Super Six’ format has been replaced by the ‘Super 7’ round. Seven teams will play each other in a round-robin league format. This decision has been taken to increase the importance of each match.

• Semi-finals and final: The top four teams from the ‘Super 7’ stage will qualify for the semi-finals, where the first team will play the fourth team and the second team will play the third team. The world champion will then be determined through the final.

T20 World Cup: Eliminator and ‘Super 10’ like IPL

The biggest change to the T20 World Cup has been the increase in the number of teams in the second round. The second phase will now feature 10 teams instead of the previous 8, which will create a big opportunity for partner countries.

• First Round (Group Stage): A total of 20 teams will be divided into five groups (4 teams per group). In the previous format, there were four groups of 5 teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.

• Super 10: The previous ‘Super 8’ phase is being cancelled, and the ‘Super 10’ round is being introduced. Here, 10 teams will be divided into two groups (5 teams in each group).

• Semi-finals and Eliminator: The top two teams from each group in the ‘Super 10’ phase will advance directly to the semi-finals. However, the remaining two semi-finalists will be determined by an ‘eliminator’ match, similar to the IPL. The second and third-placed teams from each group will face each other in two eliminator matches in a cross-over format. The winners of those two matches will fill the remaining two semi-final spots.

2028 T20 World Cup qualification process

Some changes have also been made to the qualification phase for the 2028 T20 World Cup:

• Scotland will have a direct chance to play in the European regional finals.

• Teams that participated in the 2026 World Cup and cannot directly qualify for the 2028 tournament will have to overcome the hurdle of the global qualifiers.

• The remaining eight spots in the Global Qualifier will be filled through regional qualifiers in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and East Asia-Pacific.

• A total of 20 teams will compete in the 2028 World Cup, including the 12 directly qualified teams and the remaining teams from regional and global qualifiers.

Special Note: The draft approval of these changes has been given based on the recommendations of the ICC Development and Chief Executives Committee. However, it will only receive full approval after a final review by the ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee in November this year.