It looks like there will be a shake-up in the structure of the men’s World Cups in both formats.

There is a proposal on the table to reduce the Over-50s World Cup from 14 teams to 12 along with the addition of a ‘super seven’ stage.

This could even be in place for the 2027 edition, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

To achieve this, the ICC is likely to only allow two teams to advance from a global qualifying tournament instead of four as originally planned.

A tweak to the T20 World Cup is also said to be under review, with the ‘super eight’ stage increasing to a ‘super 10’ phase.

All of the above could lead to an increase in the one match the ICC wants to see more of: India versus Pakistan.

The two teams do not meet outside of major tournaments, but it is considered the most marketable match for television.

Elsewhere, England, India and Australia have their key Future Tours Program (FTP) matches for 2027 to 2031 locked in alongside the global tournaments, but the rest of the full members are yet to sort out their schedules.

There is a meeting planned for August where they will attempt to discuss the rest of the schedule before a final review in September.

Furthermore, it seems very likely that the number of bilateral white-ball series played by teams will decrease after the next FTP cycle.

In their place will be a series of intercontinental quadrangular mini-tournaments, likely featuring two teams from each full member region.