The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced a revamped format for the 2027 Men’s One-Day International World Cup, which could lead to an additional match between arch-rivals Pakistan and India.
While next year’s edition in Southern Africa remains a 14-team competition, the three lowest-ranked qualifiers will now compete in a preliminary round, with only one of them advancing to a 12-player main group stage.
This will now only have two pools of six, with a new “super seven” stage replacing the previous “super six” round robin.
It is important to note that there will be no quarter-finals, with the tournament deprived of the added risk and interest of an additional round of knockout matches.
An additional team in the round-robin stage, however, increases the chances of an additional match between India and Pakistan.
The passion for cricket in the subcontinent, which in turn generates huge broadcast rights and commercial revenue for the ICC, makes the match between India and Pakistan the most lucrative match in the sport.
But India and Pakistan no longer meet outside of ICC events, with political tensions between the neighboring countries meaning that their own governments effectively prohibit them from facing each other.
The last bilateral series played by India in Pakistan was in 2006 (Test and ODI series).
In a statement, the ICC insisted the new World Cup structure “creates more context, competitiveness and consequence during the event.”
Another change approved at the recent ICC board meeting in Edinburgh will see the next Men’s T20 World Cup in 2028 remain a 20-team competition, but with 10 teams qualifying from the group stage instead of eight.
The two best performing teams from the “Super 10” will automatically obtain a place in the semi-finals, with a new elimination stage to decide between their opponents.
