ICC unveils ODI World Cup 2027 schedule; full details revealed

The ICC ODI World Cup 2027 is scheduled to take place in three countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The three African nations have been selected for the 50-over tournament. As per the reports from ESPNcricinfo, the ODI World Cup 2027 is set to be held in the October-to-November cycle, just like the prior 2023 ODI World Cup was held in India.

As per the recent reports, the tournament is set to run from October 4 to November 21 in 2027. The reported dates were agreed during the ICC board meeting in Ahmedabad in May. Further details to be verified at the ICC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Edinburgh in July. South Africa’s eight venues are expected to host the majority of the matches, at least 41 of the 54 matches.

World Cup returns to South Africa after 24 years

Zimbabwe is hosting 8 to 10 games, and Namibia is hosting three. Zimbabwe will also have three venues rather than the initial two, with Victoria Falls joining Harare Sports Club and Queens in Bulawayo. Apart from these stadiums, the Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium will be ready during the latter part of 2026 and will host some domestic games before an official inauguration in May 2027.

This is the first time since 2003 that the tournament will be hosted in Africa, among the co-hosts of South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, two nations previously South Africa and Zimbabwe had the experience of hosting the tournament in 2003. South Africa has hosted the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2009 Champions Trophy and the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup.

2027 ODI World Cup format explained

Zimbabwe and Namibia have also co-hosted the Under-19 tournament. The tournament will return to a 14-team format after being played amongst 10 teams in the previous two editions. The teams will be divided into two groups of seven, with the top three from each advancing to the Super Six round. The format was originally used in the 2003 edition.

However, a modified version of points carried forward (PCF) from the 1999 edition will be reintroduced in the 2027 edition. In the last two editions, there was a round robin format between 10 teams, where every team played against each other, and the top 4 teams would have qualified for the semi-finals and then to the final.

New tour programs for the bilateral series

This is the first ICC event under the 2027-2031 Future Tours Programme (FTP), which oversees bilateral international engagements between countries and will be confirmed at ICC meetings in Hong Kong later this year. It is thought that some preliminary negotiations have occurred, but the main sticking point in the development of the FTP is the structure of the World Test Championship and its potential growth.

The apex body will make a final decision on whether to include all 12 Full Members, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan, which are currently not members of the WTC, and whether one-off Tests can be played as part of the WTC schedule. As per reports from ESPNcricinfo, the decision is set to be made at the AGM in July, following which the complete FTP will be fleshed out.