The International Cricket Council (ICC) is discussing several important changes that could reshape international cricket in the coming years. Senior ICC officials met in Edinburgh last week to review the future of global tournaments and competition formats.
The discussions come as the ICC prepares for fresh broadcast rights negotiations. The governing body wants to make its tournaments more competitive while increasing their commercial value and global viewership.
ICC discusses new World Cup formats and tournament plans
According to BBC Sport, the ICC is considering reducing the men’s ODI World Cup from 14 teams to 12 teams. The new format would also introduce a “super seven” stage after the group phase. If approved, the changes could begin with the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The proposal would also affect qualification. Instead of four teams reaching the World Cup through the global qualifiers, only two teams would qualify. This would make it more difficult for Associate nations to earn a place in cricket’s biggest 50-over tournament.
At the same time, the ICC is looking at expanding the T20 World Cup’s “super eight” stage to 10 teams. The aim is to keep more countries in contention for longer and increase the number of matches between top cricketing nations.
The ICC also discussed the Future Tours Programme for the 2027-2031 cycle. England, India and Australia have already agreed on their major fixtures. The remaining Full Member nations are expected to finalise their schedules during meetings in August and September.
Another topic was reducing ODI matches from 50 overs to 40 overs per side. However, no changes will be made, and the 50-over format will continue.
The ICC is also exploring the introduction of World Test Championship semifinals to increase interest in Test cricket. In addition, plans for a global Club T20 tournament featuring champion franchise teams from different leagues continue to move forward and could become a reality within the next two years.
