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New Delhi . Big news has come for cricket fans regarding ODI World Cup 2027. There is a possibility of change in the start date of this prestigious tournament to be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. According to reports, the International Cricket Council i.e. ICC is now considering starting the tournament on 2 October 2027. This date is special because Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary is celebrated on this day in India. However, the new start date has not been formally announced by ICC yet.

According to the initial schedule, the 2027 ODI World Cup was to start after the first week of October. Earlier, the plan was to start the main tournament on October 8 and warm-up matches were to be played before that. Now if ICC's new plan is agreed upon then the main tournament can start from October 2. The final is currently expected to be held on November 21. In this situation the competition can last for about 50 days.

The deep historical relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa is also considered to be an important reason behind linking Gandhi Jayanti with the start of the tournament. Gandhi spent about 21 years of his life in South Africa. At the same time, he did important work towards developing the principles of Satyagraha and non-violence. In such a situation, starting the Cricket World Cup to be hosted by South Africa from Gandhi Jayanti is being seen as a symbolic message.

The 2027 World Cup is going to be special in many ways. This time 14 teams will participate in the competition and the matches will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. ICC has also shared information about 12 venues for the tournament. The matches will be held in eight cities of South Africa while three venues of Zimbabwe and one of Namibia have been included.

A major change has also been made in the format of the tournament. The ICC has expanded the 2027 World Cup to 14 teams and added a new Super Series system to the qualification stage. The three lowest ranked qualified teams will compete against each other in a Super Series and one team from this stage will advance to the main competition. After this, in the main tournament, 12 teams will be divided into two groups and competitions will be held. The group stage will be followed by the Super Six stage and then the semi-finals and finals.

Many big teams including India have secured their places for the World Cup. Apart from India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe have also qualified. Whereas the position of other teams including Namibia will be decided by the qualification process.

At present, the biggest discussion is about the World Cup starting on the day of Gandhi Jayanti. If ICC approves this proposal, then the start of 2027 ODI World Cup will become very special not only in terms of cricket but also in terms of historical and cultural message. However, the final schedule will be confirmed only after the official announcement by ICC.