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The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning another big change for the Men's T20 World Cup. After expanding the men’s T20 World Cup to 20 teams in 2024, the ICC is now considering increasing the number of participating teams to 24 from the 2032 edition of the tournament.
The main aim behind the tournament’s proposed expansion is to help emerging cricket nations play at the highest level more often. The world cricket body also wants to grow the game in new countries and attract more fans across the world. Amid this, Glenn McGrath advises Jasprit Bumrah to prioritise Test cricket over T20 Cricket.
Men's T20 World Cup could feature 24 teams from 2032
As reported by The Telegraph, the ICC wants to increase the number of teams after the successful 2026 T20 World Cup hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The global body is now looking at ways to make the tournament even bigger and give more countries a chance to compete on the world stage.
If the proposal gets approved, the 2032 Men's T20 World Cup will feature 24 teams, although the discussions are still ongoing, and no final decision has been taken yet.
ICC has even bigger dream after 24-team T20 World Cup plan
Not just that, the report revealed that the world cricket body has an even bigger target. The ICC reportedly wants to take the tournament to 32 teams in the future and make it one of the biggest sporting events in the world. However, they will make this suddenly.
The governing body is expected to first increase the tournament to 24 teams and then study whether a 32-team T20 World Cup is possible in the coming years. The aim is to give more countries a chance to play international cricket at the highest level. Amid this, Sunil Gavaskar calls for axing poor fielders after India's disappointing display in Zimbawe T20Is.
Olympics return boosts ICC's global expansion plans
The Telegraph report suggests that the ICC believes T20 cricket is the best format to grow the game across the world. Cricket is also returning to the Olympic Games at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after more than 100 years, and the ICC wants to use that opportunity to make the sport more popular in new countries.
A bigger T20 World Cup will also help many associate nations. More teams will get a chance to qualify for the tournament, face top international sides, and gain valuable experience. The ICC hopes this will help cricket grow faster in countries where the sport is still developing.
No change before 2032 despite expansion talks
However, the 2028 edition of the World Cup is to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and the 2030 tournament is expected to be played with the current 20-team format. If the proposal gets approved, the expansion to 24 teams is likely to begin only from the 2032 edition.
Interestingly, the ICC has already approved a new format for the 2028 major event. Even though there will still be 20 teams, the tournament structure will change. The Super Eight stage will be replaced with a new Super 10 stage and Eliminators to make the competition more exciting.
Notably, the Men's tournament had only 16 teams until 2022, before it was expanded to 20 teams in 2024. Because of that change, teams like the USA, Scotland, and the Netherlands got the opportunity to compete against the world's best teams on the big stage.
