ICC's World Cup experiment may hurt cricket's expansion

International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on 16 July 2026 a revised format for the 50-over-a-side 2027 World Cup hosted by them. After toying with a format that restricted participation to 10 teams in 2019 and 2023, ICC had announced that they would increase the number of participating sides to 14 in 2027. But there were plenty of surprises when ICC finally informed the cricketing world about the manner in which they were planning to conduct the next edition of the championship, which is scheduled to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October- November 2027.

One was under the impression that when the number of participating teams was increased to 14, ICC would ensure equal treatment to all the sides. Thus, common sense suggested that the teams be split into two groups of seven each, with the top three from each moving to the “Super Six “ stage. However, ICC has now introduced a rider by making the teams ranked at 12th to 14th places play a “Super Series” on a round-robin format, with the winner alone moving to the next stage involving 12 sides. Thus, in effect, the winner of the “Super Series” alone will play in the more meaty part of the championship, with the other two getting eliminated. Thus, this effectively becomes a 12-team tournament, much to the consternation of the Associate members of ICC, who feel let down by this move.

After the Group stage, where the 12 teams are divided into two groups of six for playing each other on a round-robin basis, ICC has introduced a “Super Seven Stage”. In the past ICC had the “Super Six “ stage, to which the top three sides of each group qualified. When six gets increased to seven, ICC is making a provision for the next best-ranked side across the two groups to play at this level. The top four teams who emerge after the Super Seven stage will move to the semifinals.

A critical difference between the erstwhile Super Six and the proposed Super Seven is that while the former involved two groups of three teams each, with a total of nine games, the latter would be played on a round robin league basis between all the seven sides. Thus there will be a total of 21 matches played at the “Super Seven” stage. A round robin league between the top seven teams will make this phase the most exciting one in the course of this championship. This carries the potential to decrease the importance of the games at the Group level as well.

Thus, the structure of the championship as proposed by ICC involves a round-robin league at three stages: Super Series, two groups and Super Seven. The total number of matches will increase to 60 in the proposed format. It should be remembered that the matches totalled 48 in 2019 and 2023 when 10 teams played on a round robin basis followed by semifinals and finals and would have been limited to 54, if the group- super six structure was maintained till the semifinal stage.

The 14 teams taking part in the championship are selected in the following manner. The two hosts- South Africa and Zimbabwe- gain automatic entry while the next 8 slots are reserved for the top eight sides in ICC ranking as it stands at the end of September 2026. The last 4 spots will be filled up by the teams that qualify from amongst the Associate members through a rigorous league titled World Cup League 2, wherein 8 teams play in 36 matches. Of the 4 teams that gain entry through this manner, the top side will secure the 11th place while the other three will battle it out for the last spot through the “Super Series”.

The new format has come in for criticism from Associate members of ICC, who are asking about the significance of sending four teams to the championship if three of them are to be eliminated through a preliminary “screening”. It appears prima facie unfair that three sides are required to go through one more round of elimination so that only one of them remains in the fray when the more substantive part of the tournament commences. Logic suggests that rather than having an elimination round under the fancy title “Super Series”, it will be easier if ICC insists that only the two sides that reach the finals of World Cup League 2 qualify for the championship. It is obvious that ICC is going through this rigmarole only to keep up the charade that 14 teams, including 4 Associate members, are taking part in the World Cup.

Unlike the Permanent members of ICC who play each other during tours and bilateral series, Associate member countries get opportunities to pit their strength against the top sides only during the World Cup championship. A look at the history of international cricket shows that defeating established sides in World Cup helped the growth of the game in these countries and hence they look forward eagerly to this championship. Hence one can understand their deep disappointment over the new format announced by ICC. Namibia, Netherlands and Scotland have come into the open, voicing their protest against this arrangement.

None of the Associate members is buying ICC’s argument that the new format is an “evolved” one that will provide “a more compelling tournament and enhance the overall experience of the fans while continuing to provide emerging sides with the opportunity to compete on cricket’s biggest stage”. They feel that ICC has been led by the opinion of the top three- India, Australia and England- and accuse this body of refusing to look beyond the interests and opinions of these countries. They also complain that the players from Associate member countries were not consulted before this decision was taken. Associate members also point to the FIFA Cup where the increase in the number of participating sides to 48 had a positive impact on the game. ICC has attempted to assuage their feelings by saying that they are expanding the number of participating teams to 20 in T20 World Cup, which version is identified by this body as the growth format of the game.

But the major worry for ICC is the dropping spectator interest in the 50-over-a-side World Cup, which is their flagship championship. The last edition of this tournament, which was held in India, saw full attendance in the stadia only for matches involving the top sides. It will be difficult to sustain spectator interest in an event spread out for close to two months, where each match plays out for nearly 7 hours, unless the games offer top class entertainment and edge of the seat excitement. These two elements have been too few and far between during the current century, especially after T20 version came into existence and gained prominence.

The 2027 World Cup will, in all probability, decide the future of not only this championship but also this version of the game. It is highly likely that tests and T20 will gain increased prominence as the more popular versions of the game, the former on account of the old world charm and romance associated with it, besides the quality of the performances on offer and latter for the excitement it provides. One-day matches appear likely to lose out by falling between these two in that this version possesses neither the tradition nor the thrill to match the other two. Further, they can be time consuming as well, which will further work against their long term prospects.

In the final analysis, the new format suggested by ICC does not throw up any solution that can address the challenges that this version of the game faces around the world. By increasing the number of matches, the duration of the championship gets stretched even further, thus increasing the possibility of waning spectator interest. The insertion of a preliminary screening for three of the Associate Members to move to the Group level effectively brings down their participation to two sides. This also diminishes the potential of utilising this tournament to spread the popularity of this sport in Associate member countries, which remains one of the main objectives of ICC.

One hopes that the fears and apprehensions voiced above are proved wrong by the quality of cricket offered during the World Cup, which alone will help to sustain this championship during the years ahead. As things stand at present, the misstep committed by ICC through the format of the next World Cup has ensured that this body will have to work extra hard to regain the confidence and trust of Associate member countries.