According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the men’s one-day international World Cup in 2027 and 2031 will once again feature 14 teams. ICC, the world’s governing body of cricket, announced the changes as it unveiled its global schedule of events from 2024-2031.
In 2025 and 2029, the Champions Trophy, a one-day international competition for top-ranked eight teams, will be held again as an event for the top-ranked eight one-day international teams. This year’s World Cup featured 10 sides, down from 14 four years ago. Hosts England won the tournament.
How many teams will be there for upcoming cricket world cups?
An ICC statement said: “The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will expand to 14 teams and 54 matches in 2027 and 2031, while the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will grow to 20 teams and 55 matches in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.”
For the next cycle, however, the format has not been changed: nine teams compete every two years with six series each. WTC finals are set to take place later this month in Southampton, England, between India and New Zealand. As in 2003, the format will be similar to the previous editions of the men’s World Cup, which Australia won.
Grouping of teams in Cricket World Cup 
There will be 14 teams, and the top three teams from each group will proceed to a Super Six stage and then a semi-final and final.
There will be four groups of five teams in the men’s T20 World Cup; the top two teams will go through to a Super Eights stage, followed by semi-finals and a final. According to its tradition, the Champions Trophy will operate as two four-team groups, semi-finals and the final.
A controversial decision by the ICC in 2011 to reduce the number of participating teams to ten for the World Cup was made, with many critics arguing that it impeded the global growth of the game.
Broadcasters preferred a streamlined format, and officials justified the move at the time, saying that limiting mismatches would reduce risk.
However, it appears that the current ICC hierarchy values global expansion to the point where the T20 World Cup will be held every two years from 2024 and will feature twenty rather than 16 teams. Following the ICC’s announcement that it would reduce the number of teams participating in its 50-over World Cup to 10, the ICC established the 13-team ODI Super League.
Qualifying for the 2023 World Cup in India will be automatic for the top eight teams. Two of the ICC’s 12 member nations were denied entry to the World Cup due to the ICC’s restriction to 10 teams, while other close associate or junior nations, such as the Netherlands, who were absent due to ICC limitations, also did not get to compete.
Cricket has taken a step forward with the ICC event schedule being confirmed through 2031 and this formalizes our growth strategy into the next decade,” said Geoff Allardice, acting CEO of the ICC. In spite of an increase in Coronavirus cases that are plaguing cricket’s economic powerhouse, the latest T20 World Cup could still be staged in the United Arab Emirates in October and November.