The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially announced major changes to the formats of both the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The new tournament structures were approved during the ICC Board’s annual meeting in Edinburgh and are designed to make every match more competitive while increasing excitement for players, teams and fans.
The 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will continue to feature 14 teams, but it will now follow a three stage format before the knockout rounds. The teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th will first compete in a Super Series, with only the winner advancing to the main tournament.
The main competition will then feature 12 teams divided into two groups of six. The top three teams from each group, along with the next best placed team overall, will qualify for the newly introduced Super 7 stage. Teams will compete in another round robin phase before the top four advance to the semi finals. The winners of those matches will meet in the final to decide the world champion.
The ICC believes the revised format will ensure every match carries greater importance, while also giving emerging cricket nations more opportunities to compete on the global stage.
The 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will also see significant changes. The tournament will retain 20 teams, but the opening stage will now feature five groups of four teams instead of four groups of five. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the new Super 10 stage.
From there, the winners of the two Super 10 groups will qualify directly for the semi finals. Teams finishing second and third will compete in a new Eliminator round to secure the remaining two semi final places.
In addition, the ICC has approved the qualification pathway for the 2028 tournament and endorsed plans for a 16 team global event exclusively for Associate Member nations. The proposed competition is expected to strengthen developing cricket nations and provide more international opportunities before future T20 World Cups.
With these changes, the ICC aims to deliver more meaningful matches, improve tournament competitiveness and create a more engaging experience for cricket fans around the world.
