The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved a comprehensive overhaul of its men’s global tournament structure, introducing new formats for the men’s ODI World Cup and men’s T20 World Cup to make every match more competitive and meaningful.
The decisions, taken at the ICC Board’s annual meetings in Edinburgh, also include a revised qualification pathway for the 2028 T20 World Cup and the endorsement of a proposed 16-team global tournament for associate member nations.
World Cup revamp
While the 50-over World Cup will continue to feature 14 teams, the tournament will adopt a new three-stage competition format intended to ensure meaningful contests from the opening match through to the final.
“The Board approved an evolved competition format for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that continues to feature 14 participating teams while delivering a more compelling tournament for athletes and fans,” an ICC press release said.
Under the revised structure, the tournament will begin with a new “Super Series” involving the teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th in qualification. These three teams will compete in a round-robin format, with only the winner advancing to the next stage.
The successful team will then join the remaining 11 qualified nations in the second phase, where two groups of six teams will contest 30 matches. The top three teams from each group, along with the next highest-placed team across both groups, will qualify for the newly introduced Super 7 stage.
The new ODI World Cup format. (Credit: ICC)
The Super 7 will see all seven qualifying teams play each other in a single round-robin league comprising 21 matches. The top four teams will progress to the semifinals, with the first-placed side facing the fourth-ranked team and the second-placed side meeting the third-ranked team. The winners will advance to the final.
Previously, the tournament featured two groups of seven teams, with the top three from each group advancing to a Super Six stage before the semifinals.
“The increased consequence and enhanced competitive intensity promises to enhance the overall experience for fans while continuing to provide emerging teams with the opportunity to compete on cricket’s biggest stage,” the release added.
T20 restructuring
The ICC also approved significant changes to the Men’s T20 World Cup while retaining the tournament’s 20-team structure.
The opening stage will now consist of five groups of four teams instead of four groups of five, reducing the number of group-stage matches from 40 to 30. The top two teams from each group will advance to the newly created Super 10 stage.
The new T20 World Cup format. (Credit: ICC)
In the second phase, the 10 qualifying teams will be divided into two groups of five. Each group winner will secure an automatic place in the semifinals.
A new eliminator round has also been introduced to increase the importance of matches towards the end of the Super 10 stage. Teams finishing second in each Super 10 group will play the teams finishing third in the opposite group, with the winners of those eliminators completing the semifinal lineup.
The previous format featured a Super Eights stage consisting of two groups of four teams, with the top two teams from each group progressing directly to the semifinals.
Qualification pathway
The ICC Board also confirmed the qualification structure for the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup.
Scotland has been granted direct entry into the Europe Regional Final, recognising what the ICC described as the exceptional circumstances surrounding the team’s participation in the 2026 tournament.
All other teams that competed in the 2026 T20 World Cup but failed to 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 tournaments. Africa, Asia and Europe will each send two teams, while the Americas and East Asia-Pacific regions will each qualify one team.
From the Global Qualifier, the highest-placed team from each region, along with the next three best-performing teams overall, will qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup, subject to meeting the ICC’s minimum performance criteria.
In another significant development, the ICC Board endorsed the creation of a new 16-team global men’s tournament for the associate nations that would serve as a precursor to the T20 World Cup.
The proposed competition is intended to provide associate member nations with more regular high-quality international competition while raising overall competitive standards. The tournament is also expected to become a marquee global event for emerging cricket nations.
However, the competition has not yet received final approval. The proposal will be reviewed by the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee before returning to the Board for final consideration during its November meetings.
