ICC revamps ODI and T20 World Cup formats, introduces Super 7 and Super 10

Edinburgh: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved changes to the formats of the 2027 ODI World Cup and the 2028 Men's T20 World Cup, aimed at increasing competitiveness and ensuring every match carries greater significance.

The decisions were taken during the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh.

Super 7 introduced for 2027 ODI World Cup

The 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa would have 14 teams as planned before, up from the 10 in the previous edition. However, the ICC has revised the tournament structure by introducing a Super Series and Super 7 stage.

The Super Series will be played between three teams and one of them will progress to round two of the competition that will see six teams divided into two groups. Top 3 teams from each group plus the next highest placed team across both groups qualify for the Super 7, replacing the previously proposed Super 6 stage.

The top four teams from the Super 7 will advance to the semi-finals.

According to the ICC, the revised format is designed to ensure meaningful competition throughout the tournament while giving emerging teams a better opportunity to compete on cricket's biggest stage.

Super 10 replaces Super 8 at 2028 T20 World Cup

The ICC has also revised the format of the 2028 T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Instead of the Super 8 stage used in previous editions, the tournament will now feature a Super 10.

The competition will begin with five groups of four teams each, with the top two teams from every group progressing to the Super 10 stage.

Instead of top two teams from each Super 8 group making the semifinals in the last edition, only the one that tops the table in each group enters the last four. Teams placed second in groups play in the eliminator against the teams placed third in the opposite group, adding another layer to the competition.

The ICC said the decision was influenced by the strong performances of emerging teams at the 2026 T20 World Cup and was intended to create a more competitive second stage.

Qualification path for 2028 T20 World Cup

Scotland will enter directly into the Europe Regional Final, recognising the exceptional circumstances surrounding its participation in the 2026 tournament.

The remaining teams that participated in the 2026 edition but did not secure automatic qualification will advance directly to the Global Qualifier.

The other eight places in the Global Qualifier will be filled through regional qualification:

Two teams each from Africa, Asia and Europe.

One team each from the Americas and East Asia-Pacific regions.

The highest-ranked team from each region at the Global Qualifier, along with the next three highest-placed teams overall, will qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup.

"The new marquee tournament has been endorsed by the Board after being recommended by the ICC Development and Chief Executives' Committees. However, it will be finally approved by the Board after review by ICC's Finance & Commercial Affairs committee in the November meetings," the ICC added.

(With PTI inputs)