The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved significant changes to the formats of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and ICC Men's T20 World Cup, along with a revised qualification pathway for the 2028 T20 World Cup, following its annual Board meetings in Edinburgh.

The decisions, approved after recommendations from the ICC Chief Executives' Committee, are intended to increase the competitiveness of both tournaments while maintaining opportunities for emerging cricket nations.

The most substantial change affects the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, which will continue to feature 14 teams but adopt a new three-stage structure leading into the knockout rounds.

Under the revised format, the tournament will begin with Round 1, where the teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th will compete in a round-robin "Super Series." The winner will progress to Round 2, joining the remaining 11 teams in two groups of six.

The top three teams from each group, along with the next highest-ranked team across both groups, will advance to a new Super 7 stage. Each team will then play every other qualifier in a single round-robin competition, with the top four teams progressing to the semifinals before the final.

The previous format featured two groups of seven teams followed by a Super Six stage, with semifinalists determined from two groups of three. The new structure increases the number of matches carrying direct qualification significance throughout the tournament.

The ICC also confirmed changes to the Men's T20 World Cup. While the tournament will retain 20 participating teams, the second stage will expand from eight to 10 teams.

The group stage will be reduced from four groups of five teams to five groups of four. The top two teams from each group will qualify for a new Super 10 stage consisting of two groups of five.

Unlike the previous Super Eight format, where the top two teams from each group advanced directly to the semifinals, only the group winners in the Super 10 will secure automatic semifinal places. Teams finishing second will face the third-placed teams from the opposite group in newly introduced Eliminator matches to determine the remaining two semifinalists.

The revised structure increases the number of matches in the tournament's second phase from 12 to 20 while adding knockout contests before the semifinals.

The ICC Board also approved the qualification structure for the 2028 Men's T20 World Cup.

Scotland will advance directly to the Europe Regional Final in recognition of the circumstances surrounding its participation in the 2026 tournament. Teams that competed at the 2026 T20 World Cup but did not qualify automatically for 2028 will progress directly to the Global Qualifier.

Eight additional Global Qualifier places will be filled through regional tournaments, with two teams qualifying each from Africa, Asia and Europe, and one each from the Americas and East Asia-Pacific. The highest-placed team from each region at the Global Qualifier, along with the next three best-performing teams overall, will secure places at the 2028 tournament, subject to minimum performance criteria.

In addition, the Board endorsed the concept of a new global competition for associate member nations. Final approval will be considered after a review by the ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee during the Board's November meetings.

The approved changes mark one of the most significant restructures of the ICC's flagship men's tournaments in recent years, aiming to create more meaningful matches throughout each event while preserving qualification opportunities for emerging cricket nations ahead of future global competitions.