2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier

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2027 Cricket World Cup qualification
Dates15 February 2024 – 2027
AdministratorInternational Cricket Council
Cricket formatOne Day International
List A
Participants36
Matches289

The 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification is an ongoing process by which teams will qualify for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.[1] A series of competitions will determine which teams will take part in the tournament.[2][3]

Format

The eight top-ranked teams in the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, along with the 2027 Full Member hosts will automatically qualify for the tournament.[4] Four teams will qualify from the CWC Qualifier. The CWC Challenge League Play-off served to allow new teams from the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings to enter the qualification cycle.[5] 13th to 28th placed teams from the previous cycle, along with the 4 teams advanced from the Challenge League Play-off, entered the 20-team qualification cycle to compete for the remaining 4 spots in the World Cup.[2][3]

The next two teams in the ODI rankings (excluding the teams already qualified) will directly qualify for the CWC Qualifier. The remaining 20 sides are divided into two leagues, the CWC League 2 (8 teams) and the CWC Challenge League (12 teams).[6] Based on the results of the leagues, teams will either directly qualify for the CWC Qualifier, be eliminated from the World Cup qualification, or advance to the CWC Qualifier Play-off through which they could qualify for the CWC Qualifier. The Qualifier Play-off will also determine promotion and relegation between the two leagues.[7]

Diagram showing the qualification pathway for the 2027 CWC.
Qualification pathway for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.

Participating teams

National teams qualification status in the 2027 Men's Cricket World Cup.
  Qualified as hosts
  Teams that can qualify via ODI Rankings (currently top 8 excluding hosts)
  Teams that can enter directly in qualifier via ODI Rankings (currently top 9th and 10th excluding hosts)
  Teams that can qualify via qualifier
  Participated in the qualification but failed to qualify
  ICC members who did not enter in the qualification
  Teams withdrew or suspended
  Not an ICC member

In November 2021, the ICC announced that there would not be a second edition of the Super League.[8] Teams were allocated to the two leagues based on the results from the previous World Cup qualification cycle.[2][3]

List of teams participating in the 2027 CWC qualification
Method of qualification Date of qualification Final standings in previous cycle Number of teams Teams Placement in 2027 cycle
Hosts16 November 2021ICC Full Members
2
 South Africa2027 Cricket World Cup
 Zimbabwe
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings31 March 2027[9]Top 8 teams,
excluding the hosts
8
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Next 2 teams,
excluding the hosts
2
 TBD2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
TBD
2019–2023 World Cup qualification cycle30 July 2020 – 14 May 202313th
(Super League)
1
 Netherlands2024–2026 League 2[10]
14 August 2019 – 16 March 202314th–16th
(Top 3 of League 2)
3
   Nepal
 Oman
 Scotland
26 March – 5 April 202317th–20th
(Top 4 of Qualifier Play-off)
4
 Canada
 Namibia
 United Arab Emirates
 United States
21st–22nd
(Bottom 2 of Qualifier Play-off)
2
 Jersey2024–2026 Challenge League[10]
(Top 4 teams from the Challenge Play-off also qualified)
 Papua New Guinea
16 September 2019 – 13 December 202223rd–28th
(Top 6 of Challenge League)
6
 Denmark
 Hong Kong
 Kenya
 Qatar
 Singapore
 Uganda
29th–32nd
(Bottom 4 of Challenge League)
4
 Bermuda2024 Challenge League Play-off[5]
 Italy
 Malaysia
 Vanuatu
ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings30 September 2023Top 4 teams,
didn't participate in the previous cycle
4
 Bahrain
 Kuwait
 Saudi Arabia
 Tanzania
Total36

Qualified teams

South Africa and Zimbabwe as full-member co-hosts have automatically qualified for the final stages of the tournament.[11]

List of teams qualified for the 2027 CWC
Teams Method of qualification Date of qualification Venues Number of teams Total times qualified Last time qualified Previous best performance
 South AfricaFull Member Hosts16 November 2021—N/a
2
10
Semi-Finals (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2023)
 Zimbabwe
10
Super 6 (1999, 2003)
TBDICC Men's ODI Team Rankings
(Top 8 teams, excluding the hosts)		31 March 2027—N/a
8
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier2027TBA
4
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total
14

Eliminated teams

List of teams eliminated from the 2027 CWC qualification
TournamentDateVenueEliminationsTeams
Challenge Play-off22 February – 3 March 2024Nepal
4
 Bermuda
 Malaysia
 Saudi Arabia
 Vanuatu
Challenge League15 February 2024 – December 2026Various
8
 Singapore
 Tanzania
TBD
Qualifier Play-off2027TBA
4
 TBD
Qualifier2027TBA
6
 TBD
Total22

Supplementary tournament

2024 CWC Challenge Play-off

Tournament outcome
OutcomeBerthsTeams
Advanced to the Challenge League
4
 Bahrain
 Italy
 Kuwait
 Tanzania
Eliminated from the CWC Qualification
4
 Bermuda
 Malaysia
 Saudi Arabia
 Vanuatu
Total
8
Group A
Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Kuwait 3 2 1 0 4 0.292 Advanced to the Super 6
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 Eliminated
Source: ESPNcricinfo[12]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate[13]
Group B
Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Tanzania 3 2 1 0 4 0.633 Advanced to the Super 6
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 Eliminated
Source: ESPNcricinfo[12]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate[13]

Super 6 stage
Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Kuwait 5 5 0 0 10 2.215 Qualified for the 2024–2026 Cricket World Cup Challenge League
2  Italy 5 3 2 0 6 1.163
3  Bahrain 5 3 2 0 6 0.565
4  Tanzania 5 3 2 0 6 −0.356
5  Vanuatu 5 1 4 0 2 −1.999 Eliminated
6  Bermuda 5 0 5 0 0 −1.590
Source: ESPNcricinfo[12]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Results of games between tied teams; 4) Net run rate[13]

Qualifying leagues

2024–2026 CWC League 2

League outcome
OutcomeBerthsQualified teams
Advanced to the Qualifier
4
 United States
TBD
TBD
TBD
Advanced to the Qualifier Play-off
4
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total
8
Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  United States (Q) 32 21 10 1 43 0.693 Advance to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
2  Scotland 32 16 10 6 38 0.631
3  Netherlands 28 14 10 4 32 0.164
4  Oman 28 14 11 3 31 0.018
5    Nepal 28 11 15 2 24 0.023
6  Canada 28 10 14 4 24 −0.203
7  Namibia 28 10 16 2 22 −0.491
8  United Arab Emirates 24 7 17 0 14 −1.016
Updated to match(es) played on 14 June 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo[14]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Head-to-head record
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

2024–2026 CWC Challenge League

League outcome
OutcomeBerthsTeams
Advanced to the Qualifier Play-off
4
 Jersey
 Kuwait
 Uganda
 Italy
Eliminated from the CWC Qualification
8
 Singapore
 Tanzania
 Qatar
 Kenya
 Papua New Guinea
 Denmark
 Hong Kong
 Bahrain
Total
12
League A
Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Jersey 10 8 1 1 0 17 2.050 Advance to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
2  Kuwait 10 6 2 1 1 14 0.108
3  Papua New Guinea 10 4 4 0 2 10 −0.131
4  Denmark 10 4 5 0 1 9 −0.368
5  Kenya 10 2 6 0 2 6 −0.886 Relegate to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off
6  Qatar 10 1 7 0 2 4 −1.455
Updated to match(es) played on 31 August 2025. Source: ESPNcricinfo[15]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams
League B
Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1  Uganda 10 8 0 2 18 2.005 Advance to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off
2  Italy 10 7 1 2 16 2.905
3  Hong Kong 10 5 3 2 12 −0.436
4  Bahrain 10 4 5 1 9 −0.325
5  Tanzania (E) 10 1 7 2 4 −1.549 Relegate to the 2027 Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off
6  Singapore (E) 10 0 9 1 1 −2.204
Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2025. Source: ESPNcricinfo[16]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Wins; 3) Net run rate; 4) Results of games between tied teams
(E) Eliminated

Qualifying tournaments

2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off

Eight teams will take part in the l 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.

Teams qualified
Means of qualification Date Venue Berths Qualified teams
League 2 (bottom 4 teams)2024–2026Various
4
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Challenge League2024–2026Various
4
 Jersey
 Kuwait
 Uganda
 Italy
Total 8
League outcome
Outcome Berths Qualified teams
Advanced to Qualifier
4
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Eliminated from CWC Qualification
4
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total 8

2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier

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.

Qualified teams
Means of qualification Date Venue Berths Qualified teams
ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings—Various
2
 TBD
TBD
League 2 (Top 4 teams)2024–2026Various
4
 United States
TBD
TBD
TBD
Qualifier Play-off2027 TBD
4
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total 10
League outcome
Outcome Berths Qualified teams
Advanced to CWC
4
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Eliminated from CWC Qualification
6
 TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Total 10

See also

References

  1. "Cricket World Cup to revert to 14 teams from 2027". The Hindu. 2021-06-01. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. "Details of 2027 World Cup Qualification pathway revealed". Cricbuzz. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  3. "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  4. "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup | News". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  5. 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.
  6. "CWC League 2 and Challenge League cycle to continue for 2027 World Cup qualification | Czarsportz Global". 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  7. "ICC announces qualification pathway for 2027 World Cup". www.cricket.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  8. "What does the path to the 2027 ODI World Cup look like?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  9. "2025 Champions Trophy qualification at stake during ODI World Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  10. "Qualification pathway for 14-team 2027 men's ODI World Cup approved". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  11. "USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024–2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed". www.t20worldcup.com. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  12. "CWC Play-off Points Table | CWC Play-off Standings | CWC Play-off Ranking". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  13. "Controversy and confusion at Challenge Play-off: Malaysia crash out despite dubious tactic". Cricbuzz. 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  14. "ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 2023/24-2027 Points Table & Team Standings". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  15. "Challenge League A 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  16. "Challenge League B 2024 - Points Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2024.