The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved major changes to the formats of its flagship men’s tournaments, introducing new competition structures for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to make every match more meaningful and increase competitive intensity.
The decisions came during the ICC Board’s annual meetings in Edinburgh, where directors approved recommendations from the Chief Executives’ Committee. The governing body said the changes aim to create “more meaningful contests,” strengthen the competitive structure of global events and improve the experience for players and fans.
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The 14 team ODI World Cup will keep the same number of participating nations but adopt a new 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 next stage.
The remaining 12 teams will then compete in two groups of six. The top three teams from each group, along with the next highest placed team across both groups, will qualify for the newly created Super 7 stage.
The Super 7 will feature a single round robin competition. The top four teams will advance to the semi finals, where the first placed team will face the fourth placed side and the second placed team will meet the third placed team before the winners progress to the final.
T20 World Cup gets Super 10 and Eliminator stage
The ICC also approved sweeping changes to the Men’s T20 World Cup while retaining the tournament’s 20 team format.
Instead of four groups of five, the group stage will now feature five groups of four teams. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the new Super 10 stage, replacing the previous Super Eights.
The Super 10 will consist of two groups of five teams playing in a round robin format. The winner of each group will qualify directly for the semi finals.
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The ICC has also introduced an Eliminator stage. The second placed team from one Super 10 group will play the third placed team from the opposite group. The winners of those two Eliminators will claim the remaining semi final places.
The governing body said performances by emerging nations during the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup influenced the revised format. Officials believe the changes will keep more teams in contention deeper into the tournament while ensuring that the final Super 10 matches remain significant.
Associate nations receive more opportunities
The ICC Board also endorsed a proposal for a new 16 team global tournament exclusively for Associate Member nations. The event is expected to take place before future Men’s T20 World Cups and aims to improve competitive standards while giving associate teams a marquee international competition. The proposal still requires approval from the ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee in November.
The Board also finalised the qualification pathway for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
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Scotland will advance directly to the Europe Regional Final because of exceptional circumstances surrounding the 2026 tournament. Teams that played in the 2026 T20 World Cup but failed to qualify automatically for 2028 will move straight to the Global Qualifier.
The remaining eight Global Qualifier places will come through regional competitions. Africa, Asia and Europe will each send two teams, while the Americas and East Asia Pacific regions will each qualify one team.
The highest placed team from every region, together with the next three highest placed teams overall, will qualify for the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup, subject to the ICC’s minimum performance criteria.
