Ten teams, including the two host nations, have secured direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup, while former two-time champions West Indies will have to go through the qualifying route.
South Africa and Zimbabwe, the two hosts, have earned automatic qualification. They are joined by the eight highest-ranked teams in the ICC ODI rankings as of September 30, 2026.
The 10 teams with direct qualification are Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Australia, England, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
West Indies, despite being two-time world champions, will have to compete in the qualifying tournament for a place in the 14-team World Cup.
The 2027 ODI World Cup will feature 14 teams and will have three competitive rounds before the semi-finals.
Round 1: Super Series
The first round will feature the teams finishing second and third in the qualifying tournament, along with the qualifying tournament runner-up.
A total of three matches will be played in this stage, with the top-ranked team advancing to the second round, the group stage.
Round 2: Group Stage
The group stage will feature the 10 directly qualified teams, one winner from the qualifying tournament and one Super Series winner.
The 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six.
Each group will play a round-robin format, resulting in 30 matches across the two groups.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super 7 stage. The teams finishing fourth in both groups will also qualify, taking the number of Super 7 participants to seven.
Round 3: Super 7
The Super 7 stage will be played in a full round-robin format.
Each of the seven qualifying teams will play one match against every other team, resulting in 21 matches.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is also understood to have a potential pre-seeding structure for the Super 7 stage, with India, Australia, Pakistan, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka among the teams listed.
However, those seedings are not final and could change depending on the results of the group stage.
Following the Super 7 stage, the tournament will proceed to the semi-finals and then the final to determine the 2027 ODI World Cup champion.