How the Cricket World Cup Qualification pathway works
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027 is a 14-team event, with Full Member hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe gaining automatic qualification alongside the eight-best teams on the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings at the September 30 cut-off. Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified by virtue of their respective rankings.
The final four World Cup spots will be decided through the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, with six of the 10 teams competing at that Qualifier determined.
Ireland and the West Indies as the next two best teams in the ODI Rankings outside the automatically qualifying teams go straight to the Qualifier. The top three teams from Cricket World Cup League 2 have also secured their spots at the competition – USA, Scotland, The Netherlands. Either of Oman or Namibia will fill the last available spot.
The final four spots at the Qualifier will be decided via an eight-team Qualifier Play-off in late 2026.
Six of the eight teams of that Playoff have been decided. Canada, Namibia/Oman, Nepal and UAE go to the competition as the bottom four sides of League 2, while four teams come from ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, effectively the third-tier of the 50-over cricket pyramid.
Italy and Uganda, the top two teams from the completed B Group of Challenge League, have already secured their tickets for the Play-off. The parallel A group is yet to be completed, but concludes on 31 October.
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