ICC Announces Big Changes to ODIs, T20 World Cups: New Formats Explained

ByTech Word News

Note: If you feel like you need a degree in advanced maths to figure out who’s playing whom in the upcoming Cricket World Cup, you’re not alone. Behind the ICC’s grandiose promises of global growth lies a dizzyingly complex new tournament schedule, which we break down below.

For years, global cricket tournaments have grappled with an ongoing, commercially draining paradox: how to expand the game’s global footprint without forcing fans and broadcasters to sit through weeks of predictable, low-stakes group matches. The International Cricket Council (ICC) delivered its most radical structural response yet at its annual meetings in Edinburgh. The changes were announced by the global cricket body on Wednesday 15 July.

After rejecting proposed plans to reduce the men’s flagship ODI Cricket World Cup from 14 back to 12 teams, the ICC Board instead kept the tournament’s expanded size but completely ripped up the traditional schedule. Co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, starting in 2027, the ODI World Cup will feature a ruthless four-round format with a pre-group ‘Super Series’ and a grueling ‘Super 7’ stage.

At the same time, the 20-team Men’s T20 World Cup is set for a massive facelift from 2028 when it ditches the Super 8 for an expanded Super 10 stage punctuated by high-stakes ‘Eliminators’ cards.

The goal is clear: to bring high emphatic and competitive tension to every single match, from the premiere to the final.

1. ODI World Cup: New Super 7s

The 14-team format, last seen in 2015, was previously designed around two massive, seven-team round robin groups. Although democratic, it suffered from a bloated early schedule. The newly approved system introduces instant, brutal betting.

Round 1: Super Series

Instead of going straight into group play, the three lowest-ranked qualifiers (designated as teams 12, 13 and 14) are immediately isolated. They will face each other in a super series. Only the best player survives and joins the remaining 11 elite nations in the main draw. The remaining two are sent packing before the tournament itself finds its rhythm.

Round 2: Group stage

The surviving 12 teams are divided into two groups of six, where they will play a total of 30 matches. The qualifying math here is incredibly tight:

The top three teams from each group advance automatically.

To prevent teams from playing for safe draws, the final seventh place is awarded to the next highest placed team based on tournament performance in both groups.

Round 3: Super 7 Marathon

Instead of the old system – which split the second round into two groups of three (Super Sixes) – the ICC introduced a single tier of Super 7s. Here, all seven qualifying nations will battle each other in a fierce 21-match league.

Only the top four teams in this single table will advance to the semi-finals.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES

1st round/preliminary stage

  • Previous: None (all teams entered the group stage directly).
  • New: a Super Series round between the bottom 3 teams; only the winner advances.

Group stage

  • Previous: Two groups of 7 teams each (total of 42 matches).
  • New: Two groups of 6 teams each (30 games in total).

Second round

  • Previous: Super Sixes (two groups of three teams playing 9 matches).
  • New: Super 7 (one round with 7 teams playing 21 matches).

Knockouts

  • Previous: The top two teams from each Super Six group advanced to the semi-finals.
  • New: The top four teams from the unified Super 7 table advance to the semi-finals.

2. T20 World Cup: IPL Style Eliminators

The 20-team T20 World Cup has also undergone a dramatic overhaul. While the tournament retains its 20-team canvas, the path to the trophy has been revamped to offer emerging associate nations a wider platform while increasing late-stage drama.

A slimmer, meaner group stage

In the previous format, 20 teams were drawn into four groups of five, creating a massive 40-game opening round where the heavyweights often moved comfortably. The new system compresses this into five groups of four, reducing the group stage to just 30 games. The top two from each group still advance, but the margin for error is now very thin.

Super 10 expansion

Instead of narrowing the field to Super 8, the second round will now expand to Super 10 (consisting of two groups of five). This guarantees at least two other associate or emerging nations a significant opportunity to play guaranteed matches against elite cricketing nations.

IPL style eliminators

Under the old model, the top two teams in the Super 8 groups progressed directly to the semi-finals. The new Super 10 format brings an exciting playoff layer.

  • The top-placed team in each Super 10 group qualifies directly for the semi-finals.
  • The teams finishing second and third in Group A will play “Eliminator” playoff matches against the third and second placed teams in Group B.
  • The winners of these two Sudden Death Eliminator matches will earn the final two semi-final spots.

The ICC is banking on structural rigor as it designs a path where the early games carry immediate survival stakes (ODI Super Series) and the mid-stage games offer direct qualification or playoff insurance (T20 Eliminators).

It’s a demanding, highly competitive marathon for players. For fans, it’s a guarantee that the era of tournament dead rubber is officially over.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

15 Jul 2026 16:34 IST