ICC Formats: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved major changes to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, introducing new tournament formats to make global events more competitive and meaningful.

The ICC Board approved the changes during its annual meetings in Edinburgh after reviewing recommendations from the Chief Executives’ Committee. The new formats aim to increase the importance of every match while creating more opportunities for Associate Members.

The 14-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will keep the same number of participating teams. However, the tournament will begin with a new Super Series. Teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th will compete in a round-robin contest, and the winner will qualify for the main tournament.

The main event will feature two groups of six teams. Seven teams will then advance to a newly created Super 7 stage. The top four teams in the Super 7 standings will qualify for the semi-finals before the final.

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The ICC also approved a new structure for the 20-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The opening round will now include five groups of four teams instead of four groups of five. This format reduces the number of first-round matches and increases the importance of every game.

The existing Super Eights stage will be replaced by a new Super 10 phase. Group winners will qualify directly for the semi-finals. Teams finishing second and third will compete in Eliminator matches for the remaining semi-final places.

The ICC Board also approved the qualification pathway for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. It also endorsed plans for a new 16-team global tournament exclusively for Associate Members, subject to final financial approval.

The governing body said the reforms represent one of the biggest structural changes in ICC tournament history. The changes aim to strengthen international competition and support the continued growth of cricket around the world.