Afghanistan seal 2027 World Cup berth, West Indies to go through qualifiers again
Afghanistan secured automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup with a win over Ireland on Monday, leaving twice champions West Indies to go through qualifiers for the third successive edition of the 50-overs tournament. The top eight teams in the one-day rankings on September 30, excluding co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, qualify directly for the event. Afghanistan’s win in Belfast ensured they will finish among those teams, joining Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh. The West Indies are ranked 10th and cannot make up enough ground to qualify directly despite having two ODIs against India left to play before the cut-off date. The Caribbean side failed to seal an automatic spot at the 2023 edition and lost in the qualifiers, resulting in their absence from a men’s 50-overs World Cup for the first time. They successfully negotiated the qualifiers to play at the 2019 edition. Under the new format for 2027, the winner of the qualifier will advance directly to the second stage of the World Cup, while the teams placing second, third and fourth will play in the first round known as the Super Series. The 2027 event will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.