The ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup, two of the ICC’s most prestigious men’s championships, now have extra rounds.
In order to “create more meaningful contests, elevate competitive standards, strengthen the competitive structure of both events, and enhance the tournament experience for athletes and fans,” the ICC announced the format modifications after its annual meetings in Edinburgh.
Changes in ODI WC
With the addition of a round-robin Super Series round that will come before the (group stage) Round 2, the Men’s ODI World Cup will now consist of four rounds. There will be 14 teams in all; the previous two editions (2019, 2023) had 10 teams, while the 2015 edition had 14 teams.
Teams 12, 13, and 14 will compete in the first round. Together with the other eleven, the winning team will advance to Round 2. Two groups of six teams will compete in Round 2, with the top three teams from each group and the next best team (one from each group) advancing to a round-robin Super 7.
The Super 7 will now be the pathway for teams to advance to the semifinals, replacing the Super 6 in the previous version. According to the ICC, the goal is to make each game more competitive and consequential.
The top four teams advance to the semifinals, which are set for Teams 1 vs. 4 and Teams 2 vs. 3.
Changes in T20 WC
Increasing the number of teams from eight to ten in the second stage of the competition is one of the major modifications to the Men’s T20 World Cup format. As a result, more “emerging” clubs might advance to the second round.
The 20 teams will first be divided into five groups of four, as opposed to the previous format’s four groups of five.
Each group will advance to the following round with two teams.
A Super 10 with two groups of five each will take the place of the Super 8.
Second, two IPL-style eliminator matches involving teams ranked second and third in the opposing group will take place after the top team from each group advances straight to the semifinals.
The two semi-finals and the final will take place after the two eliminator matches.
Changes in T20 WC Qualification Structure
The 2028 T20 World Cup qualification process has also undergone modifications. Scotland will advance directly to the Europe Regional Final after replacing Bangladesh at the last minute in the 2026 competition.
The Global Qualifier will be used for the remaining teams that participated in the 2026 edition but were not automatically qualified for 2028. Regional qualifying in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and East Asia-Pacific will be used to fill the final eight seats in the Global Qualifier.
In addition to the 12 directly qualified teams, the top three teams from each area will also qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup, bringing the total to 20.
It should be mentioned that although the Development and Chief Executives’ Committee suggested the adjustments, the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee will consider them in November of this year before they are formally authorized.
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