The ICC confirmed the full fixture schedule for the 2027 Men's Cricket World Cup on October 1, setting up a tournament that runs from October 2 to November 21, 2027 across co-hosts South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The headline fixtures for Indian fans: defending finalists India open against defending champions Australia in Cape Town on October 7, and the two sides meet Pakistan in Johannesburg on October 10.
With the tournament expanding from 10 to 14 teams, the ICC has built a new three-stage structure rather than a single round-robin. It opens with a Super Series — a three-match round robin among the three lowest-ranked of the 14 qualified sides (seeded 12th, 13th and 14th) — with only the top finisher advancing and the other two eliminated immediately. The Super Series gets under way in Windhoek, Namibia, on October 2, two days before the group stage proper begins.
The Super Series winner joins the top 11 seeds in a group stage of 12 teams, split into two groups of six playing a round robin — 30 matches in total. Group A is set to include India, Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe alongside the Super Series qualifier, while Group B features New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh plus the second Super Series-adjacent slot. The direct qualification picture, including West Indies' route through a separate 2027 Qualifier, was already shaping up before this schedule confirmed where the group-stage places fall.
From each group, the top three teams advance, joined by the next-best-placed side across both groups, to form a seven-team Super 7 stage — another round robin, this time with every side playing the other six for 21 further matches. The top four from the Super 7 table progress to the knockouts: a semi-final at Newlands, Cape Town, on November 17, and a second semi-final at Centurion in Tshwane on November 18, before the final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on November 21, with a reserve day on November 22 if needed.
India's campaign opens with a rematch of the 2023 final against Australia at Newlands, Cape Town, on October 7, before the tournament's single biggest draw on the group-stage calendar: India vs Pakistan in Johannesburg on October 10. A fixture against Zimbabwe is scheduled in Victoria Falls, giving India's group-stage trip a spread across all three host nations rather than a single-country base.
Twelve venues will host matches across the tournament — eight in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and one in Namibia — reflecting the first World Cup shared by three co-hosts since the format last expanded. For broadcasters and travelling fans, that means following India's campaign alone could involve stops in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Victoria Falls before any Super 7 or knockout fixtures are added to the calendar.
A full year ahead of the opening match, the schedule mostly matters as a planning document rather than a form guide — squads, rankings and the identity of the Super Series participants will all shift between now and October 2027. But locking in the India-Pakistan date, the final's venue, and a format that rewards sustained form across three stages rather than a single group table gives broadcasters, sponsors and fans a concrete calendar to build toward, starting with the ICC's ballot system for tickets opening alongside the schedule announcement.
More tournament and schedule coverage is available on SportGod's blog, with live scores from India's current home season on SportGod's live matches page and AI-powered previews on SportGod's predictions page.
The schedule, venues, format details and match dates in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked ICC reporting, current as of October 2, 2026; squads and final qualification slots remain more than a year from being confirmed.
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