2027 Cricket World Cup qualification
The 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification[2] is the process by which teams will qualify for the 2027 Cricket World Cup. A series of competitions will determine which teams will take part in the final stages of the tournament.
In total, 36 teams will take part in the qualification process, from which 14 teams will qualify for the CWC.[3] South Africa and Zimbabwe will automatically qualify for the tournament as co-hosts along with the other eight top-ranked teams in the ICC men's ODI team rankings.[4]
Out of 36 teams, 4 teams will be eliminated after the 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off.[5] The two teams ranked 11th and 12th will directly qualify for 2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, whilst the other 20 sides will be divided into two leagues, the 2023–2027 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 (8 teams) and the 2023–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League (12 teams). Based on the results of the leagues, teams will either directly qualify for the World Cup Qualifier, be eliminated from World Cup qualification, or advance to the 2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off through which they could qualify for the World Cup Qualifier. The Qualifier Play-off also determines promotion and relegation between the two leagues. Teams were allocated to the two leagues based on the results from the previous World Cup qualification cycle.[6]
Participating teams edit
In November 2021, the ICC announced that there would not be a second edition of the Super League.[7]
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Teams | Qualified | Qualified for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | — | — | 2 | 2027 Cricket World Cup | |
| ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings | TBA | — | 8 |  TBD
| |
| 2 | TBD
|
2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier | |||
| 2020-2023 Super League | 30 July 2020 – 14 May 2023 | Various | 1 |  Netherlands
|
2024–2026 League 2[8] |
| 2019-2023 League 2 | 14 August 2019 – 16 March 2023 | Various | 5 | ||
| 2023 Qualifier Play-off | 26 March – 5 April 2023 | Namibia | 2 | ||
| 2 | 2024–2026 Challenge League[9](Top 4 teams from the Challenge Play-off also qualify) | ||||
| 2019-2022 Challenge League | 16 September 2019 – 13 December 2022 | Various | 6 | ||
| 4 | 2024 Challenge Play-off[5] | ||||
| ICC T20I Championship | 30 September 2023 | — | 4 | ||
| Total | 36 |
Qualified teams edit
South Africa and Zimbabwe as full-member co-hosts have automatically qualified for the final stages of the tournament.[10]
| Team | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Venues | Total times qualified |
Last time qualified |
Previous best performance |
Number of teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Africa |
co-hosts | 16 November 2021 | – | 10 | 2023 | Semi-Finals (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2023) | 2 |
 Zimbabwe |
2015 | Super 6s (1999, 2003) | |||||
| TBD |
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings (Top 8 teams, excluding the hosts) |
31 March 2027 | Various | 8 | |||
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2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier | TBD | TBD | 4 | |||
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| Total | 14 |
Eliminated teams edit
| Tournament | Date | Venue | Eliminations | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challenge Play-off | 22 February – 3 March 2024 | Malaysia | 4 | |
| Challenge League | 15th February 2024 – December 2027 | Various | 8 | TBD
|
| Qualifier Play-off | TBA | TBA | 4 | TBD
|
| Qualifier | TBA | TBA | 6 | TBD
|
| Total | 22 |
Supplementary tournament edit
2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge Play-off edit
| Outcome | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced to Challenge League | 4 |  Bahrain Italy Kuwait Tanzania
|
| Eliminated from CWC Qualification | 4 |  Bermuda Malaysia Vanuatu Saudi Arabia
|
| Total | 8 |
Group A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.292 | Advanced to the Super Six |
| 2 | Italy
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.574 | |
| 3 | Bermuda
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −1.108 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.298 |
Group B edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanzania
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.633 | Advanced to the Super Six |
| 2 | Bahrain
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.713 | |
| 3 | Vanuatu
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −0.791 | |
| 4 | Malaysia
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −0.742 |
Super Six edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2.215 | Qualified for the 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League |
| 2 | Italy
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1.163 | |
| 3 | Bahrain
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0.481 | |
| 4 | Tanzania
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −0.356 | |
| 5 | Vanuatu
|
5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | −1.999 | |
| 6 | Bermuda
|
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | −1.637 |
Qualifying leagues edit
2023–2027 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 edit
| Outcome | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced to Qualifier | 4 | |
| Advanced to Qualifier Play-off | 4 | |
| Total | 8 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.498 | 2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier |
| 2 |  Namibia
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0.259 | |
| 3 | Netherlands
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −0.158 | |
| 4 |  Scotland
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.381 | |
| 5 |  Nepal
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | −0.118 | 2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off |
| 6 |  United Arab Emirates
|
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | −1.072 | |
| 7 |  Oman
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 8 |  United States
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
2024–2026 Cricket World Cup Challenge League edit
| Outcome | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced to Qualifier Play-off | 4 | |
| Eliminated from CWC Qualification | 8 | |
| Total | 12 |
League A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Denmark
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 |  Jersey
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 |  Kenya
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Kuwait
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 |  Papua New Guinea
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 |  Qatar
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
League B edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahrain
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 |  Hong Kong
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Italy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 |  Singapore
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | Tanzania
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 |  Uganda
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Qualifying tournaments edit
2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off edit
Eight teams will take part in the qualifier play-off: the bottom four teams from the League 2 along with the top two teams each in Groups A and B of the Challenge League. The top four teams from this tournament progress to the Qualifier.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League 2 | 2023–2027 | Various | 4 | |
| Challenge League | 2023–2026 | Various | 4 | |
| Total | 8 |
| Outcome | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced to Qualifier | 4 | |
| Eliminated from CWC Qualification | 4 | |
| Total | 8 |
2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier edit
The Qualifier will feature ten teams in total: the 11th and 12th ranked teams; the top four teams from the League 2, and the top four teams from the qualifier play-off. The top four teams from this tournament will qualify for the World Cup.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings | — | Various | 2 | |
| League 2 | 2023–2027 | Various | 4 | |
| Qualifier Play-off | 2026 | 4 | ||
| Total | 10 |
| Outcome | Berths | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced to CWC | 4 | |
| Eliminated from CWC Qualification | 6 | |
| Total | 10 |
References edit
- ^ "What does the path to the 2027 ODI World Cup look like?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
- ^ "CWC League 2 and Challenge League cycle to continue for 2027 World Cup qualification | Czarsportz Global". 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024-2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". www.t20worldcup.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ "Cricket World Cup to revert to 14 teams from 2027". The Hindu. 2021-06-01. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ a b icc (2024-02-20). "Four Challenge League spots to be claimed via Malaysia Play-off on road to 2027". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
- ^ "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup | News". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ a b c "ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 2024/27". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 March 2024.