DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov 15, CMC – The West Indies will have to battle through a five-team group stage and hope to reach the semifinal if they are to make it out of next year’s World Cup Qualifiers.
The ICC on Sunday revealed the format for the 2027 Qualifiers, which are due to be held in February and March.
As part of the new format, which sees the number of teams increased from 10 to 14, the 10 teams in the Qualifier will be divided into two groups of five.
The round-robin group stage will be followed by a semi-final and a final, with the top four teams qualifying for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from October 2 to November 21.
The winner of the Qualifier progresses directly to the World Cup group stage, whereas the three remaining teams will compete in the Super Series to determine the final group stage spot.
In total, the Qualifier will have 23 games.
The Windies, along with Ireland, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland and the USA have already secured their spots at the Qualifiers, with the remaining four teams coming from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff to be held in Nepal from December 4 to 21.
The eight teams which are a part of the Playoff are Nepal, Italy, Namibia, Uganda, Kuwait, Canada, Jersey and the United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have already booked their spots at the World Cup, with South Africa and Zimbabwe getting automatic qualification as hosts.
CMC rb/26