Pakistan and India could face each other twice at the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, following the tournament schedule announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The two traditional rivals have been placed in the same Group A alongside Australia, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Qualifier A. Their group-stage encounter is scheduled for October 10, 2027, at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Under the new World Cup format, the top three teams from each group, along with the better-performing fourth-placed team, will advance to the seven-team Super 7 stage. Each Super 7 team will play six matches, with the top four advancing to the semifinals.
The ICC has pre-seeded India as A1 and Pakistan as A3 for the Super 7 stage. The official schedule lists a second India-Pakistan fixture for November 7, 2027, in Cape Town, provided both teams qualify for the Super 7 phase.
There is also a possibility of another meeting in the knockout stage if both teams reach the semifinals and the tournament’s qualification pathways bring them together. The semifinals are scheduled for November 17 and 18, while the final will be played in Johannesburg on November 21.
The possibility of multiple Pakistan-India encounters has generated considerable interest among cricket fans, although the second World Cup meeting is conditional on both teams progressing from the group stage.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from October 2 to November 21, 2027, with 14 teams competing across 57 matches.
The broader claim that Pakistan and India could play as many as six times during 2027 depends on the schedule and format of other bilateral or multi-team competitions, including the Asia Cup, and should therefore be treated as a possibility rather than a confirmed fixture count.