ICC unveils full 2027 World Cup schedule; India v Pakistan slated in group stage

The ICC unveiled the full schedule for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 in Cape Town on October 1, 2026, and began a one-year countdown to the tournament.

The event will be staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and will feature 14 teams. India and Pakistan have directly qualified for the tournament, while South Africa and Zimbabwe hold direct places as the two confirmed host nations. The remaining direct qualification spots were decided using the ODI rankings cut-off on September 30, 2026.

The three lowest-ranked teams among the 14 qualified teams will first play a three-team Super Series, with each side facing the other two once; the winner will advance to the next stage and join 11 other teams in the main group stage. The main group stage will comprise 12 teams split into two groups of six, with each team playing five group matches.

From those groups, the top three teams in each group will move forward and the best fourth-placed side across the two groups will also qualify for the Super 7 stage. The Super 7 will consist of 21 matches, and the top four teams from that stage will reach the semi-finals.

One of the marquee fixtures is the India v Pakistan group match. The report gives two dates for that fixture: 10th october and October 14, 2027. The article notes the pair produced blockbuster clashes in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 editions, and the new format means the sides could meet again later if both advance to the Super 7 or the knockout rounds.

The tournament will use 12 venues across the three host countries, with South Africa allocated eight venues, Zimbabwe three and Namibia one. 𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙆 𝙔𝙊𝙍 𝘾𝘼𝙻𝙀𝙉𝘿𝘼𝙍𝙎 🗓️The ICC Men’s #CWC27 fixtures have been unveiled 🏆Access the ticket ballot 🎫 https://t.co/MSLEQzcObb pic.twitter.com/dpTE4TEjO7

The schedule shows the tournament is due to conclude with the final on November 21, 2027.