The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved the schedule for its major men’s events through 2035 while finalising qualification formats for three global tournaments, including the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup and the 2028 Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups.The decisions were taken at the ICC Board meetings in Bali, Indonesia, on Sunday, with the governing body emphasising the need to strengthen qualification pathways and create greater opportunities for both Full and Associate Members.The ICC also confirmed the dates and hosts for the final qualification events for cricket’s return to the Olympic programme at the Los Angeles 2028 Games (LA28). The men’s Olympic Qualifier will be held in the USA from February 5 to 13, 2028, while the women’s event will take place in Bangladesh from February 26 to March 5.ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said the decisions would provide greater long-term visibility to players and member associations, allowing them to develop structured calendars, high-performance programmes and improved player pathways.“The ICC events portfolio and schedule are critical components of cricket’s global architecture and deliver elevated context, competitiveness and consequence to the ecosystem,” Gupta said.
ICC’s major men’s events calendar until 2035
The ICC Board has approved the windows for major men’s events from the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand through to the 2035 Men’s Cricket World Cup.The calendar includes four editions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, two ODI World Cups, three World Test Championship finals and two Champions Trophy tournaments.The 2029 Men’s Champions Trophy will be held in India from October 9 to 28, while India and Bangladesh will jointly host the 2031 Men’s Cricket World Cup from October 9 to November 23.England will host the 2029 and 2031 World Test Championship finals, scheduled for June 8-12 and June 12-16, respectively.The 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup will be staged in England, Ireland and Scotland from July 4 to August 4. The 2032 and 2034 editions of the tournament are scheduled for October 14 to November 14 and July 6 to August 6, respectively, with hosts yet to be confirmed.The 2033 Champions Trophy will run from October 2 to 23, while the 2033 and 2035 World Test Championship finals are scheduled for June 9-13 and June 7-11, respectively. The host nations for these events are yet to be announced.The 2035 Men’s Cricket World Cup, scheduled from October 2 to November 18, will bring the approved calendar to a close.
2027 ODI World Cup: 10-team qualifier, four places at stake
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2027, scheduled for February and March 2027, will feature 10 teams competing in 23 matches.The tournament will begin with two groups of five teams each, followed by semi-finals and a final. The top four teams will secure qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup.However, the qualification process will have an additional layer. The tournament winner will progress directly to the World Cup’s Group Stage, while the other three qualified teams will compete in a Super Series to determine the final Group Stage spot.
Eight direct qualification spots for 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup
The 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier will feature 16 teams and 31 matches, with the tournament scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2028.The teams will be divided into four groups of four, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. Eight teams will qualify directly for the 2028 tournament from the Global Qualifier.The ICC has also outlined a regional representation mechanism to ensure geographical diversity in the final line-up. The highest-placed team from each region will qualify, subject to minimum performance criteria, with the remaining places going to the next best-ranked teams overall.The four semi-finalists will automatically advance and will be included in the overall ranking. The four losing quarter-finalists will be ranked from fifth to eighth based on their group-stage position, points, number of wins and net run-rate.Teams finishing third in their respective groups will be ranked from ninth to 12th using the same criteria, while teams finishing fourth will be ineligible for qualification.If a region’s highest-ranked team finishes among the semi-finalists or losing quarter-finalists, its representation will already be secured. However, if its highest-ranked team finishes third in a group, it will qualify in place of the lowest-ranked losing quarter-finalist that is not already the highest-placed team from its region.This process will continue until every eligible region is represented, with any remaining qualification places going to the highest-ranked losing quarter-finalists.
Women’s T20 World Cup 2028: 10 teams already qualified
The ICC has also approved the qualification framework for the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup, with 10 teams having already secured their places.Australia, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, England, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland have qualified automatically, alongside hosts Pakistan.The remaining two spots will be decided through a 10-team Global Qualifier.The Netherlands and Scotland, who featured in the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup but did not secure automatic qualification for the 2028 edition, will enter the Global Qualifier directly.They will be joined by eight teams progressing through five regional qualification tournaments scheduled for 2027. The top two teams from the Global Qualifier will complete the 12-team line-up for the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup.
LA 2028 Olympic qualification
With cricket set to return to the Olympic programme at LA28, the ICC has confirmed the hosts and dates for the final qualification tournaments.The men’s Olympic Qualifier will be held in Bangladesh from February 5 to 13, 2028, followed by the women’s competition in Bangladesh from February 26 to March 5.Both tournaments will feature eight teams divided into two groups of four, with a total of 13 matches in each competition.Teams will play each other once in the group stage, with the two group winners advancing to the final. The winner of each final will secure the last available qualification berth for the respective Olympic competition.