ICC considering 24-team T20 World Cup in 2032, more India matches and eventual 32-team expansion: Report

ICC considering 24-team T20 World Cup in 2032, more India matches and eventual 32-team expansion: Report originally appeared on Cricket News .

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The T20 World Cup is set to expand to 24 teams, reportedly from the 2032 edition, per The Telegraph report.

The ICC harbours longer-term ambitions to grow the tournament to 32 nations.

Expansion could hand commercially valuable sides like India additional fixtures.

ICC considering 24-team T20 World Cup in 2032, more India matches and eventual 32-team expansion

The men's T20 World Cup is heading for another significant expansion, with the tournament reportedly set to swell to 24 teams as cricket's governing body pursues aggressive global growth. It marks the latest step in a rapid enlargement of the sport's flagship white-ball event over the past decade.

According to an exclusive report by the Telegraph , the increase from the current 20 sides is likely to take effect from the 2032 edition. The newspaper's senior cricket writer Tim Wigmore reported that the ICC's ambitions stretch further still, with a longer-term vision of growing the competition to 32 nations.

The move would continue a trend already well established. The 2024 tournament, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States, expanded the field from 16 to 20 teams, and the governing body appears intent on pushing those boundaries again as it chases new markets and audiences worldwide.

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More matches for the biggest markets

The commercial logic underpinning the plan is difficult to miss. As reported by the Telegraph, a larger tournament could lead to additional matches for teams from the most lucrative markets, with India cited as the obvious beneficiary given its unrivalled commercial pull within the global game.

More fixtures involving the sport's financial heavyweight would inevitably increase the tournament's broadcast value, a consideration that has driven much of cricket's recent strategic decision-making. The Telegraph framed the expansion within that context of maximising commercial return alongside genuine global development.

The direction of travel is consistent across formats. The ICC has already confirmed the women's T20 World Cup will grow to 16 teams for its 2030 edition, underlining a broader institutional appetite for enlarging its showpiece events across the board.

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Growth ambitions meet familiar questions

For all the strategic sense of expansion, the plan will reignite a debate that has long shadowed these tournaments. A 24-team field, potentially rising to 32, raises the perennial concern about competitive imbalance and the prospect of lopsided contests between established powers and emerging associate nations.

There is a tension at the heart of the strategy that the ICC has yet to resolve fully. Genuine globalisation of the game demands opportunities for smaller nations, yet the commercial engine driving that growth relies heavily on marquee fixtures involving a handful of established sides.

Whether a bloated tournament can satisfy both aims without diluting the spectacle remains the question the governing body must answer. However, if the results are to be judged by past tournaments, one would have to admit that the ICC lived up to the massive expectations in both the 2024 and 2026 editions of the tournament.

2024 saw Pakistan's upset loss at the hands of the USA and Afghanistan defeating both former champions Australia and 2022 finalists New Zealand to book a slot in the semifinals. Meanwhile, 2026 saw Zimbabwe go on a dream run that saw them defeat Sri Lanka before defeating Australia and knocking them out of the playoff race. If a 24-team tournament can do the same, then it is exactly what the format needs.

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