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At the ICC AGM on Wednesday in Scotland, the board confirmed a new format for the 2027 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe next year.

The World Cup 2027 will be contested among 14 nations, as it was in 2015, but with a format that has never been used before in international cricket.

The ICC Board, consisting of three representatives from associate nations, approved this format that was earlier proposed by the Chief Executives’ Committee that includes Chief Executives & representatives from full & associate members.

The last two editions of the ODI World Cup, in 2019 and 2023, saw 10 teams competing in a round-robin format, followed by semi-finals.

In 2027, the ICC has not only increased the number of participating teams to 14 teams but also introduced a Super Series and Super 7 stage.

What will be the format of the 2027 World Cup?

In the new structure for the 14-team World Cup 2027, the tournament will kick off with the 12th, 13th, and 14th placed qualifying teams competing in a mini-series called the Super Series round. One team from these three teams in the Super Series will progress to the main competition, joining the other 11 teams.

The 12 teams will then be distributed into two groups of six teams each, who all will be playing a round-robin format. Things get more interesting from there.

The top three teams from each group and the next best-ranked team across both groups will progress to the Super 7 round.

In the Super 7 stage, all teams will play against each other, and the top four will advance to the semi-finals, where the group leader will meet the 4th-placed team in the semi-final, and the second- and third-ranked sides will clash in the other semi-final.

The ICC explained that this restructuring of the ODI World Cup format has been done to eliminate dead rubbers to as much extent as possible.

“The structure has been designed to strengthen the competitive narrative across every stage of the event, with matches from Round 1 and Round 2 carrying higher consequence with a highly competitive Super 7 stage witnessing 7 qualifying teams going through a round-robin stage to qualify for the semi-finals,” the ICC stated.

Australia are the defending champions of the ODI World Cup, having won the trophy in 2023 in Ahmedabad by beating hosts India in the final.

When and where is the 2027 World Cup?

The World Cup 2027 is scheduled to be played in October-November in three countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Which teams have qualified for the World Cup 2027?

Co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe have earned a direct entry in the 14-team 2027 World Cup. Plus, the eight other highest ranked teams in the ICC ODI rankings will also qualify directly. The remaining four slots will be decided through a global qualifier, which will see 10 nations competing early next year.

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