- ODI World Cup to follow three-stage format before knockout rounds.
- T20 World Cup group stage to consist of five groups instead of four.
- ICC board approves qualification pathway for 2028 T20 World Cup.
KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved major changes to the formats of its flagship men’s global tournaments, introducing new competition structures for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in a bid to increase competitiveness and ensure every match carries greater significance.
The decisions were taken at the ICC Board’s annual meetings in Edinburgh, where the Board approved recommendations from the Chief Executives’ Committee aimed at creating more meaningful contests, strengthening the competitive structure of the tournaments and enhancing the experience for players and fans.
While the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will continue to feature 14 teams, the tournament will now follow a three-stage format before the knockout rounds.
Under the revised structure, the teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th will first compete in a round-robin “Super Series”, with the winner advancing to the main competition.
The second stage will feature two groups of six teams each. The top three teams from each group, along with the next highest-placed team across both groups, will qualify for a newly introduced “Super 7” stage.
The Super 7 will be played in a round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will see the first-placed team take on the fourth-placed side, while the second-placed team will face the third-placed team, with the winners progressing to the final.
According to the ICC, the new structure has been designed to ensure every stage of the tournament carries greater consequence, with meaningful contests from the opening match through to the final while continuing to provide emerging nations with opportunities to compete on cricket’s biggest stage.
The ICC also approved significant changes to the Men’s T20 World Cup, retaining the 20-team event while expanding opportunities for teams to remain in contention deeper into the tournament.
The group stage will now consist of five groups of four teams instead of four groups of five. The top two teams from each group will qualify for a new Super 10 stage, replacing the previous Super Eights.
The Super 10 stage will comprise two groups of five teams. The winners of each group will qualify directly for the semi-finals.
A new Eliminator stage will also be introduced, with the second-placed team in one Super 10 group facing the third-placed team from the other group. The winners of the two Eliminators will claim the remaining semi-final berths.
The ICC said the revised format was influenced by the performances of emerging teams at the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup and is intended to increase competitive intensity while ensuring the closing matches of the Super 10 stage remain significant.
The ICC Board also endorsed a proposal for a new 16-team global tournament exclusively for Associate Member nations, which is expected to be played before future Men’s T20 World Cups.
The proposed event aims to improve competitive standards among Associate teams while providing them with a marquee global competition. The proposal remains subject to final approval by the ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee at its November meeting.
The Board also approved the qualification pathway for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Scotland will enter directly into the Europe Regional Final due to exceptional circumstances surrounding its participation in the 2026 tournament.
Teams that featured in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup but did not secure automatic qualification for 2028 will advance directly to the Global Qualifier.
The remaining 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.
The highest-placed team from each region at the Global Qualifier, together with the next three highest-placed teams overall, will qualify for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, subject to minimum performance criteria.
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