The ICC has announced that there will be two Eliminators before semi finals in T20 World Cup 2028, which will be held at Australia and New Zealand in October-November 2028.
The overall number of matches will stay at 55, albeit with some interesting differences to the format in the 20-team tournament that will help make it more competitive and less dead rubber. The main feature of the biggest highlights is the first-round group stage format, which has been reshaped, and the addition of two ‘eliminator’ games before the semi-finals.
Format Breakdown
There have been changes to the first round group stage, from four groups of five teams to five groups of four. The Icc has reduced the number of group games (40 to 30) in order to have a more intense and compact opening phase. The top 2 teams of each group will qualify for the second round known as the Super 10 which will be composed of 2 groups of 5 teams.
The Super 10 stage: The winner of each group will qualify for the semi-finals. The second and third place teams from each group, however, will compete in two different cross-pooled competition quarterfinals. The winners of these eliminators will join the two group winners in the semi-finals. A new knockout stage brings an extra layer of excitement and tension to the second half of the group stage.
The ICC said the vote to give more opportunities in the second round was led by the impressive performances of emerging countries in India and Sri Lanka for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
According to an official statement by the ICC, this will increase the number of emerging nations playing in the Super 10 and will also provide “higher competitive standards.
The ICC also believes the two eliminator matches will add excitement to the Super 10 stage, keep teams competitive until the end, and reduce meaningless matches.
Qualification Status
The places in the 2028 T20 World Cup are already secured by 12 teams. Here are all of them:
| Category | Teams |
|---|---|
| Co-hosts | Australia, New Zealand |
| 2026 Super Eight | England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe |
| T20I Rankings | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland |
Total Qualified Teams
The other eight will be filled in a 16-team Global qualifier. This will feature eight teams that were not automatically qualified for the 2026 event as well as regional qualifiers from Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas and East Asia/Pacific. The Scotland will now face an Europe Regional Final before being granted a berth in the World Cup.
The ICC also confirmed that the final format for the global qualifiers will be decided after the review by the ICC’s finance and commercial affairs committee in November this year.
The latest format change reflects the ICC has been continuously trying to balance the interests of the established cricket nations and the young and emerging nations. The changes follow a similar re-structuring of the 2027 ODI World Cup, which outlines a broader plan to ensure ODI World Cups are more engaging for fans and competitive for all competitors.
The rest of the 2028 T20 World Cup schedule and the exact locations will be announced in the coming months.
