Cape Town: The International Cricket Council (ICC), in collaboration with Cricket South Africa (CSA), is expected to announce the schedule for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup on October 1, according to international media reports.
The schedule announcement will coincide with the one-year countdown to the global tournament and is also expected to mark the opening of the registration process for World Cup ticket ballots.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, the 2027 World Cup is likely to begin on October 1, 2027, with the final scheduled for November 21. The tournament will be hosted across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
14 teams to feature in 2027 World Cup
The 2027 edition will feature 14 teams, an increase from the 10-team format used at the previous men’s World Cup.
Ten teams are expected to be confirmed before the tournament schedule is released, with September 30 serving as the qualification cut-off date.
Under the ICC’s qualification pathway, the top eight teams in the relevant rankings will secure direct qualification, while the three host nations have a separate qualification route.
South Africa, as a host nation, have already secured their place. Zimbabwe are also assured of a spot, while Namibia’s qualification status depends on the applicable qualification criteria.
Based on the current qualification picture, teams including India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Australia, England, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are among those competing for direct qualification places.
Bangladesh, despite currently being outside the top eight, could still qualify directly through the overall qualification structure because of South Africa’s guaranteed place as hosts.
Four teams to qualify through Qualifiers
The remaining four World Cup places will be decided through the Qualifiers, scheduled to take place between February 22 and March 23, 2027.
Those teams are expected to be listed as Qualifier 1, Qualifier 2, Qualifier 3 and Qualifier 4 in the initial World Cup schedule.
World Cup ticket ballot to open
Alongside the schedule announcement, the ICC is also expected to launch the ticket ballot registration process on October 1.
Tickets will not necessarily go on general sale immediately. Instead, fans will be able to register for the ballot, giving them an opportunity to apply for tickets for matches during the tournament.
New format for 2027 World Cup
The 2027 edition will introduce a revamped competition structure involving 14 teams and three stages before the knockout phase.
The opening stage will see Teams 12, 13 and 14 play a round-robin Super Series, with the top team progressing to the next phase.
The second round will then feature two groups of six teams. The leading teams from those groups, together with the highest-ranked remaining side across the two groups, will advance to the Super Seven stage.
The top four teams from the Super Seven phase will qualify for the semifinals, with the two semifinal winners meeting in the final to determine the 2027 men’s world champions.
The new structure is designed to make more matches meaningful throughout the tournament and increase the importance of results from the early stages.
