Top News

• ICC’s game changer decision
• The format of the 2027 ODI World Cup has changed
• Every match will be decisive because of ‘Super 7’

The ICC Mens ODI World Cup 2027, one of the biggest tournaments in cricket, will now be played in a new format. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced several major changes to the format of the tournament ahead of the 2027 World Cup. 14 teams will participate in the tournament which will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. But the road to the World Cup is going to be more challenging than ever.

New stages like ‘Super Series’ and ‘Super 7’ will be included by ICC for the first time. The ICC said the changes are aimed at making the opening matches of the tournament more competitive and exciting. So that the excitement from the first match to the final match is maintained. Along with this, the format of the T20 World Cup has also been changed. The ODI World Cup will be held in 2027, while the next T20 World Cup will be held in 2028.

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What will be new in the 2027 World Cup?

In the 2027 World Cup 14 teams will participate, but not all teams will directly reach the group stage. Out of the 14 teams, the three lowest ranked teams in the ICC rankings will play the Super Series first. That is, as per the new format, the three teams ranked 12th to 14th will play the ‘Super Series’ first. Only one team from this stage will advance to the next round, while two teams will be eliminated from the tournament. This means 14 teams will be named, but the main event will start with 12 teams. The 12 teams will be divided into two groups after the Super Series. Group A – 6 teams, Group B – 6 teams. Each team will play against five other teams in their group.

Super-7 will increase the enthusiasm of the World Cup

This is the biggest change in this format. The top three teams will directly enter the Super 7s. This means six teams have been decided for Super 7. Additionally, among the fourth placed teams in both the groups, the team with the better performance, i.e. the team with the better net run rate if points or points are equal, will also qualify. As in FIFA World Cup 2026, the top two teams from each group, plus a select group of third-placed teams, qualify for the knockout stages. Similarly, six teams will make it to the Super-7s and the best-performing team finishing fourth in both groups will advance to the Super-7s. A total of seven teams will play in Super 7. All these seven teams will play against each other and the top four teams on points table will qualify for the semi-finals. The top four teams from Super 7 will play in the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will meet in the final.

What has changed?

The ICC had decided in June 2021 to include 14 teams in the 2027 World Cup. Earlier the 2019 and 2023 World Cups were played with 10 teams. The initial plan was to divide the 14 teams into two groups of seven teams each, followed by a Super 6 round, followed by the semi-finals and the final. The new format will now have a Super Series, followed by a main group stage with only 12 teams and 30 matches.

What did the ICC say?

“The new format has been designed to increase the importance of each stage of the competition. Each match in the first and second rounds will have more impact. The Super 7 stage will be highly competitive, with seven teams playing chain matches to reach the semi-finals,” ICC said in a statement.

According to the ICC, the new format will increase the importance of opening matches. Earlier, some teams could bounce back from early losses, but now weaker teams have to prove their place beforehand.

World Cup 2027 when and where?

The ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2027 will start on 4 October 2027 and the final match will be played on 27 November 2027. The prestigious tournament will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Australia is the defending champion. Australia won the World Cup by defeating India in the 2023 World Cup final.

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