Revamped Cricket World Cup format could see an additional India-Pakistan match

The 14-team 2027 ODI tournament in Africa will have a Super Seven stage but no quarterfinals.The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a revamped format for the men’s 2027 one-day international World Cup that could lead to an additional fixture between India and Pakistan.The restructure, revealed on Wednesday, comes after concerns were expressed about the prospect of too many dead rubbers, which in turn would lead to sparse crowds at venues, and the number of foregone conclusions at the recent T20 World Cup.While next year’s edition in Africa" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8337" data-entity-type="location">Southern Africa remains a 14-team competition, the three lowest-ranked qualifiers will now take part in a preliminary round, and just one of them will progress to a 12-team main group stage.That will now feature just two pools of six teams with a new “Super Seven” stage replacing the previous “Super Six” round robin.Significantly, there will be no quarterfinals with the 50-over tournament denied the further jeopardy and interest that comes with an extra round of clear-cut knockout matches.The ICC, however, insisted in a statement that the new ODI World Cup structure “creates greater context, competitiveness and consequence during the event”.An additional team in the round-robin phase also increases the prospects of an extra match between India and Pakistan, who share a bitter rivalry that has been soured further in recent years.The passion for cricket on the subcontinent, which in turn generates lucrative broadcast rights and huge commercial revenues for the ICC, makes a match between India and Pakistan the most valuable in the sport.