Pakistan and India have been placed in the same group as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule and groups for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which will be staged across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The 14-team mega event will start with the ‘Super Series’, comprising three teams who would come through the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, and will face each other in a round-robin format, with all three first-round matches scheduled to be played at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek on October 2, 4 and 6, respectively.
Following the Super Series, the top two teams in the standings will advance into the main round, which will feature a total of 12 teams, divided into two groups, unveiled earlier today.
Traditional rivals Pakistan and India, alongside defending champions Australia, have been slotted in Group A, which further features Afghanistan, co-host Zimbabwe and Qualifier A, which would come through the Super Series.
Group B, on the other hand, features Bangladesh, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, co-hosts South Africa and Qualifier B.
Group Stage action will begin on October 7 in Cape Town with a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final, as defending champions Australia face India. Co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe will begin their campaigns on October 9 and 11 respectively. South Africa will face New Zealand in Cape Town, while Zimbabwe will take on Afghanistan in Bulawayo.
South Africa and Zimbabwe qualified directly as hosts, along with the eight highest-ranked teams in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings at the September 30, 2026 cut-off. The remaining four places will be decided through the Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The top-placed team will qualify directly for the Group Stage, while the other three teams will enter the Super Series for the remaining Group Stage berth.
The top three teams from each group, along with the better-performing fourth-placed team, will advance to the Super 7 phase.
The much-anticipated Pakistan-India match is scheduled for October 10 in Johannesburg. The Namibia Cricket Ground’s final fixture of the tournament will see England face Sri Lanka on October 13.
India will face Zimbabwe in the first World Cup match at the new ground in Victoria Falls, with the fixture also serving as the final match of the Group Stage.
The three-team Super Series in Windhoek will feature the second-, third- and fourth-placed teams from the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in three high-stakes matches on October 2, 4 and 6. The teams will play a single round-robin series, with the side finishing top securing the final Group Stage spot.
The Group Stage will also feature India and Australia meeting in Cape Town, South Africa facing New Zealand and Zimbabwe beginning its campaign against Qualifier B.
The seven teams progressing from the Group Stage will enter the Super 7 phase without carrying any points from the earlier stage. Each team will play six further matches between October 25 and November 14.
To provide clarity over venues and fixture pathways, the ICC has pre-seeded several teams into designated Super 7 positions. The allocations are: A1: India, A2: Australia, A3: Pakistan, AB4: England, B1: New Zealand, B2: South Africa, B3: Sri Lanka.
The Super 7 phase will begin on October 25 with A2 facing B3 in Johannesburg. Based on the current seeding, that would be Australia against Sri Lanka if both teams qualify. If a non-seeded team qualifies for the Super 7 phase while a pre-seeded team does not, the qualifying side will assume the position allocated to the displaced seeded team. For example, if Bangladesh qualify and Sri Lanka do not, Bangladesh would take the B3 position and face Australia on October 25.
The ICC said the final will be held on November 21 in Johannesburg. With the schedule now confirmed, teams and fans can look forward to a thrilling tournament across three nations.
Source: Geo News