The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the format for the ODI World Cup 2027. Reports had suggested that the ICC would reduce the number of teams from 14 to 12, but luckily for associate nations, that won’t happen. Instead, they have introduced two new rounds: ‘Super Series’ and ‘Super 7’.
ICC introduces new format for ODI World Cup 2027
Under the previous model, each team faced off in the round-robin before the top four qualified for the semifinals. Now, they will be a ‘Super Series’. Teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th will face off, and only the top team will advance to the next stage. Then the 12 teams will be divided into groups of six.
| Previous Format | New Format |
|---|---|
| Two groups of 7 (42 matches) Top 3 teams qualify for Super Six | Round 1: (Teams 12, 13, 14) |
| Round-robin ‘Super series’ Top team progresses to Round 2 | |
| Round 2: Two groups of 6 (30 matches) | |
| Top 3 teams from each group plus the next highest placed team across both groups qualify for Super 7 | |
| Super Six- Two groups of three | Round 3: Super 7 – Round robin (21 matches) |
| (9 matches) | Top 4 teams from Super 7 progress to semis |
| Top two teams from each group progress to semis | |
| Semifinals (2 matches) | Semifinals (2 matches): (1 vs. 4 & 2 vs. 3) |
| Final | Final |
The top three teams from each group and the next-best-ranked of the remaining six teams will qualify for the ‘Super 7’, which will be a round-robin stage. Then the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals. On paper, the new structure suggests that the ODI World Cup has expanded from 10 to 14 teams. But in reality, it’s 12 teams.
Under the new format, the top 11 teams will qualify directly for the ODI World Cup 2027. However, one mustn’t forget that Zimbabwe, as one of the three hosts alongside South Africa and Namibia, will qualify even if they aren’t ranked inside the top 11. However, Namibia hasn’t been granted direct qualification as the hosts since they are not a full ICC member. They’ll have to play in the ‘Super Series’ if they aren’t ranked among the top 11 teams. As of now, they are ranked 18th in the ICC team rankings.
ICC men’s ODI team rankings (as of July 15, 2026)
| Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 31 | 3762 | 121 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 32 | 3533 | 110 |
| 3 | Australia | 29 | 2965 | 102 |
| 4 | South Africa | 28 | 2855 | 102 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 32 | 3215 | 100 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 36 | 3470 | 96 |
| 7 | Afghanistan | 24 | 2154 | 90 |
| 8 | England | 29 | 2558 | 88 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 39 | 3251 | 83 |
| 10 | West Indies | 31 | 2342 | 76 |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 15 | 941 | 63 |
| 12 | Ireland | 12 | 653 | 54 |
| 13 | Scotland | 25 | 1071 | 43 |
| 14 | Netherlands | 26 | 1097 | 42 |
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