ICC expands men's world events: ODI WC to 14 teams, T20 WC to 20 teams

The changes come into effect in the 2024-31 cycle, with the Champions Trophy also poised to return

The 2027 men’s ODI World Cup will feature 14 teams after the ICC Board decided on Tuesday to expand the quadrennial tournament in the 2024-31 cycle of events. Another marquee event that has been expanded is the men’s T20 World Cup. The tournament will comprise 20 teams and will be held every two years in the ICC’s next commercial cycle from 2023-2031.

The ICC has also decided to reintroduce an additional event in the form of the 50-over Champions Trophy in the next cycle of global events. The tournament will comprise the top-eight ranked teams; the first edition will be played in 2025, followed by another in 2029.

The ICC Board also decided to retain the format for the World Test Championship (WTC) in the next cycle with the nine teams playing six series each to compete in the final every two years: 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031. The inaugural edition of the WTC will culminate in the final between India and New Zealand from June 18-22 in Southampton. The second cycle will commence immediately after the title clash.

The 2027 and 2031 ODI World Cups will feature 54 matches each while the T20 World Cups, scheduled for 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030, will comprise 55 matches each. The ICC Board also approved the formats for various global events with the ODI World Cups reverting to the Super 6s that was last seen in the 2003 edition held in South Africa. Fourteen teams would be split across the two groups of seven each, with the top three from each progressing to the Super Six stage, which would followed by semi-finals and final.

The T20 World Cup, meanwhile, will see 20 teams spread across four groups of five each with the top two entering the Super Eights stage. The knockouts, including the semi-finals and a final, follow.

The Champions Trophy, which was last played in 2017, will retain the same format as in the past with eight teams split across two groups of four, and the top two sides from each group making the semi-finals followed by the final.

The expansion of the men’s ODI World Cup has been a long-standing debate since the ICC curtailed the tournament to 10 teams after the 14-team 2015 edition. The governing body subsequently launched the 13-team ODI Super League from 2020 to provide context to the 50-over game with the top eight teams directly qualifying for the 2023 World Cup. However, two of the 12 Full Members as well as some of the top Associates countries were left frustrated by the ICC’s decision to limit the ODI World Cup to just 10 teams.

To offset that change the ICC had decided to consider increasing the number of teams in the T20 World Cup, which it has reiterated will be the vehicle to expand cricket’s footprint globally. That decision on Tuesday received the backing of the ICC Board, which agreed to not only add four teams to the existing set of 16, but also have the T20 World Cup every two years.

“Having the ICC event schedule confirmed through to 2031 is a significant step forward for cricket and will form the basis of our growth strategy for the next decade,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC acting chief executive officer, said in a media release on Tuesday.