ICC Announces Schedule for 2027 ODI World Cup Qualifier

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that the 2027 ODI World Cup Qualifier will take place from 22 February to 23 March 2027. However, the governing body has not yet decided which country will host the 10-team tournament.

Although the schedule has now been set, the ICC is still working on selecting the venue for the competition.

The Qualifier is part of the ICC's new qualification system for the 2027 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, which was announced in July. Under this format, the team that wins the 10-team Qualifier will book a direct place in the 14-team World Cup.

Apart from that, the teams that finish second, third and fourth in the Qualifier will advance to the newly introduced Super Series. That competition will act as the first phase of the World Cup, with only the winning team earning the final place in the tournament's 12-team main stage.

The 2027 ODI World Cup will be played from 4 October to 21 November across 12 venues in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The World Cup Qualifier will include the two lowest-ranked Full Member nations in the ICC ODI rankings as of 30 September 2026, with hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe not being part of that selection.

They will be joined by the top four teams from the Cricket World Cup League 2, along with the four best-performing sides from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff.

The Qualifier Playoff will feature eight teams, including the four lowest-ranked teams from League 2 and four teams from the Challenge League, which is the third level of international one-day cricket. The ICC has not yet announced the tournament format, but the top four teams from the Playoff will qualify for the World Cup Qualifier.

The Challenge League will have 12 teams split into two groups of six. During the qualification cycle, each group will compete in three round-robin events, with the top two teams from each group earning a place in the Qualifier Playoff.