The 2027 men’s 50-over World Cup is set to have 14 teams, four more than the 2023 edition. On paper, that looks like a wider tournament. The concern raised in The Hindu’s report is that the new structure may still leave lower-ranked and Associate teams with limited meaningful exposure against the strongest sides.
The issue is not only the number of teams in the event, but how the matches are arranged. After criticism of the 10-team World Cup in 2023, the International Cricket Council had moved toward a larger field for 2027. A 14-team event divided into two groups would have guaranteed each team at least six matches in the first phase. That would have given Associate members more fixtures against top-level opposition.
The revised format changes that expectation. According to the report, the tournament will now be played in three stages, beginning with a round-robin among three qualifiers. Only one of those teams will move into the next phase. That team will then join the top eight-ranked sides, the two Test-playing hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, the winner of the qualifying tournament, and the winner from the first round-robin stage to make a 12-team main section.
Why the format is being questioned
The main criticism is that the first phase appears to sit on the edge of the tournament instead of feeling like a full part of it. If only one team from a three-team round-robin advances, two teams could exit after a very short stay, despite the event being described as a 14-team World Cup.
Once the 12-team stage begins, the teams will be split into two groups. The top three teams from each group, along with the best finisher from the remaining sides, will move into a “Super Seven” round-robin. From there, the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals.
This creates a longer and more commercially useful tournament for the strongest teams, but it narrows the path for those outside the top bracket. For countries trying to grow in one-day cricket, World Cup matches against established teams are valuable because such fixtures are rare outside global events.
The Netherlands example
The report points to the Netherlands as a clear example. During the 2023 World Cup, the Dutch side beat South Africa and Bangladesh. Those results suggested that the gap between leading teams and lower-ranked teams may not always be as wide as assumed.
Even so, the Netherlands have not played any of the 12 Test-playing countries since that tournament, according to the source. That absence matters because improvement at international level depends heavily on repeated chances to face stronger teams. A World Cup format that reduces such opportunities makes that path harder.
Associate members rely on ICC events more than the bigger cricket nations do. Full Members can usually arrange bilateral series, but smaller teams often wait for global qualifiers and major tournaments to get high-quality matches. A larger World Cup was expected to help address that imbalance. The new structure may do less than expected.
Commercial pressure remains central
The report argues that television and revenue considerations are a major factor in the ICC’s thinking. In particular, India vs Pakistan remains the most valuable fixture in world cricket because of its audience size and the fact that the two teams do not currently play bilateral series.
A format that can create at least two India-Pakistan matches, and possibly three, carries obvious commercial appeal. The concern is that this goal shapes the structure of the event more than competitive fairness or the spread of the game.
The ICC has often been accused of adjusting tournament formats to balance cricketing and financial priorities. Changing the structure around 15 months before the World Cup adds to that criticism. It also leaves lower-ranked teams with uncertainty over the kind of event they are preparing for.
The 2027 World Cup will still include more teams than the 2023 edition. But if several of those teams receive only a brief route into the main competition, the expansion may not deliver the broader playing opportunities many had expected. For Associate members such as Scotland, the Netherlands and others, the central question is simple: will a larger World Cup actually mean more cricket against the best teams?
Source: The Hindu Cricket.