DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved major changes to the formats of the Men’s ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup, introducing new competition structures aimed at increasing the significance and competitiveness of matches throughout both tournaments.
Under the approved changes, the 14-team ODI World Cup will feature a new Super 7 stage, while the 20-team T20 World Cup will replace the existing Super 8 with a Super 10 phase. The revised formats are intended to create more meaningful contests from the opening stages of each event.
New ODI World Cup Format
The updated 14-team ODI World Cup will be played across three stages.
The tournament will begin with a Super Series involving the teams ranked 12th, 13th, and 14th in the ICC rankings. The winner of that series will advance to the main tournament.
The next stage will feature 12 teams divided into two groups of six. At the end of the group phase, the top three teams from each group, along with the next-best performing team overall, will qualify for the Super 7 stage.
In the Super 7 round, all seven teams will play each other once. The top four teams in the standings will advance to the semi-finals, with the winners progressing to the World Cup final.
T20 World Cup to Introduce Super 10
The ICC has also approved a new structure for the 20-team T20 World Cup.
The opening round will consist of five groups of four teams each. The top two teams from every group will qualify for the new Super 10 stage.
The Super 10 teams will then be divided into two groups. The winners of each group will qualify directly for the semi-finals, while the teams finishing second and third in each group will compete in newly introduced eliminator matches to determine the remaining semi-finalists.
Qualification Changes Also Approved
The ICC Board also gave in-principle approval for a separate 16-team global T20 tournament for Associate Members, which is expected to be held before the T20 World Cup. Final approval is anticipated in November.
In addition, the board approved a revised qualification pathway for the 2028 T20 World Cup. Teams that do not secure direct qualification through the 2026 tournament will compete in global qualification events, with additional qualification opportunities available through Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and East Asia-Pacific regional tournaments.
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