New Delhi: Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel took a dig at Pakistan while discussing the newly announced format and schedule of the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup. Patel joked that Pakistan would be pleased with the format and confident of making it to the second round of the tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the 2027 ODI World Cup on Thursday, October 1, with the tournament set to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The 14-team competition will feature a multi-stage format, with the main group stage followed by a Super 7 phase and then the semi-finals and final.
Pakistan have been placed in Group A alongside India, Australia, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, with one additional team to enter the group through the qualification process.
Parthiv Patel’s comment on Pakistan
While discussing the World Cup schedule on Star Sports, Parthiv Patel contrasted the expectations of India and Pakistan.
Patel said teams approach a tournament according to their mindset and suggested that India would be thinking about reaching the semi-finals, while Pakistan might be looking at the possibility of progressing to the Super 7 stage first.
“Pakistan must be happy to see this schedule. They must be thinking that they will make it to the second round,” Patel said while discussing the format.
His comments were made in a light-hearted context as he discussed how teams could view the unusual structure of the 2027 World Cup.
How the 2027 World Cup format works
The 2027 World Cup will involve 14 teams. Before the main group stage, three lower-ranked teams will compete in a Super Series, with the winner earning a place in the 12-team main stage.
The main event will then consist of two groups of six teams each.
Pakistan are in Group A along with India, Australia, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, while Qualifier A will complete the group.
The top three teams from each group will automatically advance to the Super 7 phase. The seventh spot will go to the better-performing fourth-placed team from the two groups.
Unlike formats where points or results from an earlier group are carried forward, there will be no points carried over from the group stage to the Super 7. The seven teams will instead play a fresh round-robin phase.
The Super 7 stage will run from October 25 to November 14, 2027, with each team scheduled to play six matches. The top four teams from that phase will advance to the semi-finals.
India and Pakistan to meet in Johannesburg
One of the biggest fixtures of the group stage will be the India-Pakistan clash.
The two sides are scheduled to meet on October 10, 2027, in Johannesburg. India will begin their World Cup campaign against defending champions Australia in Cape Town on October 7, while Pakistan will open against Afghanistan on October 8.
Pakistan will subsequently face Qualifier A and Zimbabwe in their remaining group-stage fixtures, in addition to their matches against India, Australia and Afghanistan.
The new format also leaves open the possibility of India and Pakistan meeting more than once during the tournament. If both progress to the Super 7 phase, they could face each other again, while another meeting could potentially take place in the knockout stages depending on their respective positions.
Pakistan’s previous World Cup campaign
Pakistan finished fifth at the 2023 ODI World Cup, recording four wins and five defeats in their nine group-stage matches. Australia won that tournament after defeating India in the final in Ahmedabad.
The 2027 edition will therefore present Pakistan with a different route compared with the 2023 tournament. Instead of a single round-robin group involving all participating teams, the new structure provides multiple stages before the semi-finals.
For Pakistan, the immediate objective in the new format will be to finish among the top three in Group A or secure the best fourth-place record across the two groups to enter the Super 7 phase.
World Cup returns to southern Africa
The 2027 tournament will mark the return of the men’s ODI World Cup to Africa after 24 years. South Africa and Zimbabwe are co-hosts, while Namibia will host World Cup matches for the first time.
The group stage begins on October 7, 2027, while the semi-finals are scheduled for November 17 and 18. The final will be played in Johannesburg on November 21.
With India and Pakistan drawn in the same group, their October 10 encounter is already one of the most anticipated fixtures of the tournament. Patel’s comments have added another layer of banter to the build-up, but the new format means both teams will have to negotiate several stages before the World Cup reaches its knockout phase.