ICC Finalises Men’s Cricket Calendar Till 2035; India To Host 2029 Champions Trophy, Co-Host 2031 World Cup

The ICC has signed off on its major men’s events calendar through 2035 and finalised qualification systems for the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup and the 2028 Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cups. The decisions were taken at ICC Board meetings in Bali, Indonesia, on Sunday. The governing body said it wants stronger qualification pathways and more opportunities for Full and Associate Members.

The ICC also set the dates and hosts for the final qualification tournaments for cricket’s comeback to the Olympic programme at LA28. TOI reported that the men’s Olympic Qualifier will be staged in the USA from February 5 to 13, 2028, while the women’s tournament will be held in Bangladesh from February 26 to March 5.

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said the moves would give players and member associations longer-term visibility. That would help them plan structured calendars, high-performance programmes and player pathways. “The ICC events portfolio and schedule are critical components of cricket's global architecture and deliver elevated context, competitiveness and consequence to the ecosystem,” Gupta said.

Men’s Calendar Through 2035

The approved schedule runs from the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to the 2035 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

It includes four Men’s T20 World Cups, two ODI World Cups, three World Test Championship finals and two Champions Trophy tournaments. India will stage the 2029 Men’s Champions Trophy from October 9 to 28. India and Bangladesh will co-host the 2031 Men’s Cricket World Cup from October 9 to November 23.

England will host the 2029 and 2031 World Test Championship finals, scheduled for June 8-12 and June 12-16, respectively. The 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup will run in England, Ireland and Scotland from July 4 to August 4.

The 2032 and 2034 Men’s T20 World Cups are fixed for October 14 to November 14 and July 6 to August 6, with host nations still to be confirmed. The 2033 Champions Trophy will run from October 2 to 23. England has not yet been named for the 2033 and 2035 World Test Championship finals, set for June 9-13 and June 7-11, and the 2035 Men’s Cricket World Cup will take place from October 2 to November 18.

World Cup Qualification

The road to the 2027 ODI World Cup is now fixed. The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2027 will be played in February and March 2027, bringing together 10 teams for 23 matches.

It will begin with two groups of five, then move into semi-finals and a final. The top four teams will secure places in the 2027 ODI World Cup.

The winner of the qualifier goes straight into the World Cup’s Group Stage, while the other three qualified teams will enter a Super Series to decide the final Group Stage berth.

T20 Paths Set

The men’s T20 route is larger. The 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier will include 16 teams and 31 matches in the first quarter of 2028.

The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four. The event then moves to quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final, with eight sides earning direct entry to the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup.

The ICC has also built in a regional quota system to preserve geographic spread in the final field. The best-placed side from each region will go through if it meets the minimum performance bar, while the other berths will go to the highest-ranked teams overall. The four semi-finalists will advance automatically and enter the overall ranking.

A region can lock in its spot early. If its top-ranked side reaches the semi-finals or falls in the quarter-finals, that region is already covered. If that team ends third in its group, it will take the place of the lowest-ranked losing quarter-finalist that is not already the leading team from that region. The cycle will continue until every eligible region has a team, with any leftover berths going to the highest-ranked losing quarter-finalists.

The losing quarter-finalists will be ranked from fifth to eighth based on group-stage position, points, wins and net run-rate. Teams that finish third in their groups will be ranked from ninth to 12th on the same measures. Teams that finish fourth will be ineligible.

The women’s field is nearly complete. Ten teams have already qualified for the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup: Australia, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, England, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland and hosts Pakistan.

Two spots are still available. The Netherlands and Scotland will go straight into the 10-team Global Qualifier after appearing at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup but missing automatic qualification for 2028. Eight more teams will come through five regional qualification tournaments in 2027. The top two sides from the Global Qualifier will complete the 12-team line-up.

LA28 Olympic Qualifiers

Cricket is on its way back to the Olympics. The men’s Olympic Qualifier will be held in the USA from February 5 to 13, 2028, while the women’s event is also set for the USA from February 26 to March 5.

Both tournaments will feature eight teams split into two groups of four. Each competition will have 13 matches, with teams playing each other once in the group stage.

Only the group winners move on. They will meet in the final, and the winner of each final will claim the last Olympic qualification berth in that competition.