Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has approved major changes to the formats of its premier men’s tournaments, introducing a revamped structure for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to improve competitiveness and create more meaningful matches across events.
The decisions were finalized during the ICC Board’s annual meeting in Edinburgh, where members approved the recommendations of the Executive Committee.
The changes aim to strengthen the competitive structure of the two tournaments, improve the experience for players and supporters, and provide more opportunities for emerging cricketing nations.
The board also approved the qualification pathway for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and approved a proposal for a new 16-team global tournament designed primarily for associate member nations.
The ICC Men’s World Cup will continue to feature 14 teams but will adopt a revised multi-stage format designed to increase the importance of matches from the opening day of the tournament.
Under the new structure, a Super Series will be introduced before the group stage, with the 12th, 13th and 14th-ranked teams competing in a round-robin tournament. The winner of that stage will qualify for the main tournament.
The second stage will consist of two groups of six teams. The top three teams from each group will advance to the newly introduced Super 7 stage, along with the next highest placed team in both groups.
The Super 7 will consist of a single round-robin tournament featuring seven teams, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals before the tournament concludes with the final.
According to the ICC, this revised structure is designed to create greater atmosphere, competitiveness and impact throughout the tournament, while continuing to give emerging teams the opportunity to compete on cricket’s biggest stage.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will also retain its 20-team format, but will undergo significant structural changes during the 2026 edition following encouraging performances from emerging nations.
The preliminary stage of the competition will be reduced from four groups of five teams to five groups of four teams, with the number of group-stage matches reduced from 40 to 30. However, the top two teams from each group will continue to advance to the second stage.
The previous Super Eight stages will be replaced by an expanded Super 10 stage comprising two groups of five teams each. The winners of each group qualify directly for the semi-finals.
To further increase the importance of the matches in the latter stages, the second-placed teams in each Super 10 group will face the third-placed team from the opposite group in newly introduced eliminator matches, with the winners claiming the remaining two semi-final spots.
The revised format will give more representation to emerging cricket nations at the Super 10 stage while raising the standard of competition and ensuring more matches are meaningful until the end of the tournament, the ICC said.
The ICC Board also approved the qualification route for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028. In recognition of the exceptional circumstances surrounding their participation in the 2026 tournament, Scotland will enter the European regional finals directly.
The remaining teams from the 2026 T20 World Cup that do not qualify automatically will advance directly to the global qualifiers.
The remaining eight spots in the global qualifiers will be filled through regional qualification, with two teams each from Africa, Asia and Europe qualifying, while the Americas and East Asia-Pacific regions will be represented by one team each.
The highest-ranked team from each region in the Global Qualifier, along with the next three highest-ranked teams overall, will qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028, subject to ICC’s minimum performance criteria.
Additionally, the ICC Board approved the creation of a new 16-team global tournament that will serve as a precursor to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The proposed tournament aims to raise the level of competition among the Associate Member States and provide them with a marquee international event.
The proposal was recommended by the ICC Development Committee and Executive Committee, but is subject to final approval after review by the ICC Finance and Business Affairs Committee during the Board’s meeting in November.