The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the ICC event calendar for the period 2024-2031. Both the 50-year-old World Cup and the T20 World Cup will be expanded to include more teams. In addition, the Champions Cup tournament will be resumed.The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the 50+ World Cup will feature 14 teams and will feature 54 matches in the 2027 and 2031 editions. In addition, the T20 World Cup will feature 20 teams and a total of 55 matches in 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030.The Champions Cup will feature eight teams and will be held in 2025 and 2029. The International Karate Committee has also reported that more World Test Championship (WTC) finals will be held in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031. Between India and New Zealand in Southampton from June 18.There were mixed reactions after the International Criminal Court downgraded the 2019 World Cup in England to 10 teams. While Afghanistan and Bangladesh managed to qualify for the mega event, Ireland, which had been great in previous editions, failed to make that cut.The 2003 World Cup format will be back in the gameThe ICC reports that the 50-year World Cup finals in 2027 and 2031 will follow the format used at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Teams will be divided into two groups of seven each. The top three teams in each group will qualify for the Super Six stage, which will be followed by the semi-finals and final.Regarding the T20 World Cup format for the years 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030, the teams will be divided into four groups of five each. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Super Eight stage, followed by the semi-finals and finals. The shape of the Champions Cup will be the same as the previous versions. There will be two groups of four, the semi-finals and the final.Quoted by ICC Acting Executive Director Jeff Allardyce on the official Cricket Board website:“Confirmation of the ICC event calendar to 2031 is an important step for cricket and will form the basis of our growth strategy for the next decade.”In a related development, the International Chamber of Commerce has given the BCCI until June 28 to respond to an invitation on whether to host the T20 World Cup in India. The event scheduled for later in the year is under serious threat due to the epidemiological situation in India, which has forced the BCCI to suspend the IPL 2021 temporarily.Also Read: India vs England: Michael Vaughan Makes Prediction for Series, Has no Hesitation in Picking Winners
