ICC planning October 2 start for 2027 ODI World Cup to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "ICC planning October 2 start for 2027 ODI World Cup to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi")
ICC planning October 2 start for 2027 World Cup to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi Photograph: (Others)
The ICC plans to start the 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa on October 2 to honour Mahatma Gandhi, featuring a 51-day schedule and a revamped 14-team format.
The ICC has been mulling an early October start for the 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa, and the latest reports suggest they have informally finalised October 2, which also happens to be Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary. Not a coincidence, but the apex body has specifically chosen this date to commemorate the life of Gandhi -- a leader known for advocating peace and non-violence during India’s struggle for Independence. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are the co-hosts of the 14-team tournament.
A Cricbuzz report claims that the ICC intends to mark the start of the 50-over World Cup by coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti. Gandhi, also hailed as the ‘Father of the Nation’ in India, had strong links with Africa, having spent 21 years of his life in South Africa, and was also the architect of India’s freedom movement, making the ICC’s move a fitting tribute to him.
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Meanwhile, the ICC earlier planned to start the ODI World Cup on Friday (Oct 8), after scheduling the mandatory warm-up matches between October 1-7. But the plans seemed to have undergone some changes, with the ICC likely to formalise the revised schedule before making it public. With the tournament beginning on October 2, the warm-up matches will be squeezed in before that. The final will likely take place on Sunday (Nov 21), making it a 51-day affair.
The ICC also recently announced 12 venues across three countries as host cities for the World Cup matches. While South Africa has been allotted eight cities and Zimbabwe three, Namibia’s Windhoek is the only city to stage World Cup matches.
The 12 chosen venues for the 2027 ODI World Cup are -
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- Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg, South Africa)
- Centurion (Tshwane, South Africa)
- Newlands Cricket Ground (Cape Town, South Africa)
- Kingsmead Cricket Ground (Durban, South Africa)
- St George’s Park (Gqeberha, South Africa)
- Mangaung Oval (Bloemfontein, South Africa)
- Boland Park (Paarl, South Africa)
- Buffalo Park (KuGompo City, formerly known as East London, South Africa)
- Harare Sports Club (Harare, Zimbabwe)
- Queens Sports Club (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe)
- Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium (Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe)
- Namibia Cricket Ground (Windhoek, Namibia)
The ICC also changed the World Cup format for the 14-team tournament, with the three lowest-ranked teams competing in Super Series, whose winner will join the 11 teams to form a 12-team field, divided into two groups. All teams will contest against each other within their respective groups, followed by Super Seven, the two semifinals and the final.
While two of the three co-hosts, including South Africa and Zimbabwe, have attained automatic qualification, so have Australia, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan; teams like Namibia (co-host), West Indies and Ireland, among others, will feature in a 10-team Qualifier early next year to punch their World Cup tickets.
