The International Cricket Council (ICC) has unveiled the ODI World Cup 2027 dates, which are set to be played across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is expected to take place from October 4 to November 21.
The proposal was discussed and broadly approved during the ICC Board meeting in Ahmedabad in May, with formal ratification likely at the governing body’s Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh in July.
South Africa has hosted several ICC events, including the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2009 Champions Trophy and 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup.
According to the proposed schedule, South Africa is set to host the majority of the tournament, with eight venues to host more than 40 games.
Zimbabwe is expected to host 8 games, while Namibia will be hosting three fixtures. Zimbabwe’s venues list will feature a new venue at Victoria Falls.
The New Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium, currently under construction near Victoria Falls, is scheduled to be completed later this year.
The venue is expected to host domestic matches before being officially unveiled in May 2027.
The teams will be split into two groups of seven, with the top three from each group progressing to the Super Six stage. As the hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe will be qualified automatically as full members, while Namibia must qualify.
The 2027 ODI World Cup will be the first ICC event in the 2027-31 future tours programme, which set base for bilateral international fixtures.
It is understood that some initial discussions have taken place on the potential expansion of the World Test Championship to include all 12 full members, bringing in Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan in the competition.
The ICC is set to take a final decision to include all 12 full members, and if one-off tests can be part of the WTC schedule.
The final decision will be taken at the ICC AGM in July, while the remainder of the FTP cycle will be finalised later this year.
