Afghanistan have booked their place in the 2027 World Cup after securing automatic qualification with a victory over Ireland on Monday. The result has pushed the West Indies into the qualification route, meaning the two-time champions will have to play qualifiers for the third straight edition of the 50-over World Cup.
Afghanistan had a strong showing in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they finished sixth in the points table. They recorded four wins and five defeats and came close to making the semi-finals. Their victory in Belfast has now guaranteed that they will remain inside the top eight in the ODI rankings on September 30.
Under the qualification rules, the top eight teams in the ODI rankings on September 30, apart from co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, will qualify directly for the 2027 World Cup. Afghanistan have now joined Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh in securing automatic qualification.
The West Indies are currently 10th in the ODI rankings and cannot climb high enough to qualify directly. They still have two ODIs against India before the cut-off date, but even victories in both matches will not be enough to take them into the automatic qualification spots. Their campaign will therefore continue through the qualifiers, which are scheduled to begin in February next year, according to Cricinfo.
West Indies also failed to qualify directly for the 2023 World Cup. They then suffered another setback in the qualifiers and missed the tournament altogether. It was the first time the Caribbean side failed to feature in a men’s 50-over World Cup. They had managed to qualify for the 2019 edition after coming through the qualifiers.
The qualification format for the 2027 World Cup has been revised. The winner of the World Cup Qualifier will earn direct entry into the second stage of the tournament. The teams finishing second, third and fourth will have to compete in the opening round, which will be known as the Super Series.
The 2027 World Cup will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The complete schedule for the tournament has not been announced yet. With the West Indies unable to secure automatic qualification, they will now have to go through the qualifier process once again.
The West Indies had also missed out on the 2023 World Cup after finishing fifth in the Super Six stage. Their campaign ended with a surprise defeat to the Netherlands. That failure not only kept them out of the World Cup but also cost them a place in the ICC Champions Trophy, a tournament they have not played since 2013.
Under the new qualification structure, the qualifier winner will go straight into the group-stage phase of the World Cup. The second-, third- and fourth-placed teams will instead compete in the Super Series for a chance to reach the group stage.
The revised system has not gone down well with some associate nations. Scotland and the Netherlands released a joint statement on Monday, calling the changes a “setback to associate member cricket.”
The World Cup Qualifier will include the two lowest-ranked non-host Test-playing nations in the ODI rankings as of September 30, 2026. Ireland and West Indies are the two teams in this category. They will be joined by the top four teams from Cricket World Cup League Two and the top four sides from the World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
The Qualifier Playoff will feature the bottom four teams from CWC League Two and four teams from the Challenge League, which represents the third division of cricket. While the format of the playoff is yet to be confirmed, its top four teams will advance to the World Cup Qualifier.
The Challenge League will consist of 12 teams split into two groups of six. Each group will play three round-robin tournaments during the cycle, with the top two teams from each group moving on to the World Cup Qualifier Playoff.
