ICC reveals details of the qualification pathway for ODI World Cup 2027

Just three months after the commencement of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released details of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup.

The next 50-over World Cup will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The ICC Cricket World Cup Super League 2 cycle will start with the tri-series between Nepal, Netherlands, and Namibia.

34 extra teams will compete in qualification for the 14-team tournament, in addition to South Africa and Zimbabwe, which are automatically qualified as Full Member hosts, as per Cricbuzz. Following the elimination of the ICC CWC Super League, the Netherlands has returned to the Associate tournament, as was largely anticipated. Only ICC Full Members can immediately qualify through the ICC Full Member ODI Ranking Table.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Along with South Africa and Zimbabwe, the eight Full Members who rank highest in the ODI table at the yet-to-be-determined cut-off date will automatically qualify, while the two lowest-ranked teams will compete with the top Associates in the CWC Qualifiers. In addition, four qualifying slots rather than two will be available as a result of the World Cup’s expansion from 10 to 14 teams.

Qualification pathway of ICC ODI World Cup 2027

Four new teams will have an opportunity to enter the CWC Challenge League at the bottom of the qualification ladder when the first-ever CWC Challenge Playoffs get underway in Kuala Lumpur next week. Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Tanzania (who qualified via the T20 rankings) faced the four bottom-finishing teams from the previous Challenge League season: Italy, Malaysia, Vanuatu, and Bermuda in an eight-team single event. to decide which four teams would either get promoted or go back to the third-tier List A competition for the following cycle.

The Challenge League itself is still essentially the same, consisting of two concurrent six-team contests in which each group competes in three round-robin tournaments during the cycle. The top two teams from each group—rather than just the winner of each—will go to the 2026 CWC Qualifier Playoffs, which is a significant departure from the previous cycle. As a result, the Qualifier Playoff will now consist of eight teams instead of six, with the top four Challenge League teams facing the lowest four teams from CWC League 2.

It’s unclear at this time, though, if all four of these League 2 teams will face relegation in the qualifying playoffs. Only the lowest two teams from League 2 faced the possibility of qualifying for the Challenge League in the previous edition, and only Papua New Guinea was ousted to make room for Canada. It is expected that at least four Challenge League clubs will be able to advance to League 2 and so obtain ODI status, as two more teams are currently taking part in the Qualifier Playoff.

For the upcoming cycle, CWC League 2 will essentially follow the same format: it will consist of a trilateral series of six straight matches, with each team playing its opponents at home, away, and on neutral ground. The second-tier ODI league is currently an eight-team competition, despite the Netherlands being demoted from the Super League and Namibia having to forfeit ICC World Cup qualifying despite co-hosting the event.

It is no longer a perfect triple round-robin as a result. Except for one home, one away, and one neutral set, each team will play its four opponents a total of six times and only four games against its three opponents.

The top four League 2 finishers will once more go straight to the ICC World Cup qualifiers and will therefore be guaranteed ODI eligibility for the upcoming cycle, while the bottom four qualifiers will potentially go to at least two playoffs and possibly all four. Will run the risk of losing their ODI and Challenge League status, as well as being demoted.