The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) will unveil the schedule for the 2027 World Cup in Cape Town on Thursday (October 1). The event, marking the one-year countdown to the tournament, will also see the release of tickets for the games. The World Cup, as previously reported by Cricbuzz on August 15, will begin on October 2 — the Gandhi Jayanti Day — next year. The tournament will conclude on November 21, 2027.
Ten of the 14 teams taking part in the World Cup will have been identified by September 30, the cut-off date for qualification. Two of them will be the hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe, while the other eight will make it on the basis of the ICC ODI rankings. The remaining four teams will come through the qualifiers and will be listed in the schedule as Qualifier 1, 2, 3 and 4. Apart from South Africa and Zimbabwe, Namibia is also a host country, but their qualification is not yet assured.
As of now, India (No. 1), New Zealand (No. 2), Pakistan (No. 4), Australia (No. 5), England (No. 6), Sri Lanka (No. 7), Afghanistan (No. 8) and Bangladesh (No. 9) are the eight teams in line to make the cut through the rankings. Bangladesh, despite being ninth in the rankings, will sneak through as South Africa, the third-ranked side, earn their place as hosts. West Indies, currently engaged in an ODI series in India, will have to come through the qualifiers, which are scheduled to be held early next year.
The ICC will also launch the ballot for World Cup tickets on Thursday. While tickets will not be available for immediate purchase, fans will be able to register for the ticket ballot from October 1.
According to an ICC release, the 2027 World Cup has been divided into three rounds before the semi-finals and the final. The tournament begins with a Super Series featuring the three lowest-ranked of the 14 qualified teams in a round-robin format. The team finishing top will progress to the next stage.
Round 2 will have 30 matches featuring 12 teams who will be divided into two groups of six and will play in a round-robin format. The top three teams from each group, along with the next best-placed team across both groups, will advance to the Super 7 stage.
The Super 7 stage will consist of 21 round-robin matches, with the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the team finishing first in the Super 7 standings will face the fourth-placed side, while the second-placed team will take on the third-placed team. The winners of the two semi-finals will compete in the final for the ultimate prize.