Oman has confirmed its place in the qualifiers for the ODI World Cup 2027. Despite losing the last match against UAE, better net run rate took them ahead. Whereas host Namibia will now have to play playoff.
Sports News: Amidst the preparations for the ODI World Cup 2027, there has been a big change in the race for qualification. Oman's team has secured direct entry into the Global Qualifier by securing fourth place in the ICC Cricket World Cup League-2. The special thing is that Oman had lost its last match to United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 42 runs. Despite this, the team went ahead of Namibia on the basis of net run rate. Whereas World Cup co-host Namibia will now have to adopt the path of playoffs.
Oman reached the qualifiers even after losing the last match
The race to qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 is becoming increasingly interesting. After the last match of League-2 played in Dubai on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, Oman confirmed its place in the qualifiers. Oman faced UAE in this match. Batting first, UAE scored 226 runs for eight wickets in 50 overs. In reply, Oman's team could score only 184 runs for nine wickets and lost the match by 42 runs.
Mujibur Ali played an inning of 65 runs for Oman. Although he could not lead the team to victory. With this defeat, Oman had to face defeat in the seventh consecutive match. Despite this, it was a matter of relief for the team that the margin of defeat was not so big that it would have much impact on its net run rate. For this reason, Oman got the ticket for the qualifiers by finishing fourth.
Namibia and Oman have equal points, then how did they get the ticket?
There was a very close match between Oman and Namibia in the points table of League-2. Both the teams completed their 36-36 matches and both had 33 points in their account. After equality of points, net run rate decided. Oman's net run rate was minus 0.224, while Namibia's was minus 0.278. This small difference proved beneficial for Oman. The team finished fourth and Namibia had to settle for fifth place.
Earlier, to make it to the qualifiers, Oman needed to avoid a huge defeat in the last match. Even after the 42-run defeat against UAE, its net run rate remained better than Namibia.
USA, Scotland and Netherlands have already made place
A total of four teams from ODI World Cup League-2 have got a chance to reach the Global Qualifier directly. America secured the first position in the points table with 49 points. Scotland came second with 45 points and the Netherlands came third with 44 points. Oman has made it to the qualifiers as the fourth team. Now these four teams will try to reach the main matches of the World Cup in the next phase.
However, making a place in the qualifiers does not mean that these teams have got a chance to play directly in the World Cup. For this they will have to overcome another big challenge.
What path is left for hosts Namibia?
ODI World Cup 2027 will be hosted jointly by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. But despite being the host, Namibia has not got direct entry into the tournament. South Africa and Zimbabwe have qualified directly as hosts due to being full members. Whereas Namibia will have to go through the qualification process like other associate teams.
Due to finishing fifth in League-2, Namibia will now play the qualifier playoff. Apart from this, Nepal, Canada and UAE will also participate in this tournament. Along with these four teams, Jersey, Kuwait, Italy and Uganda will also enter the playoffs from the Challenge League. The top four teams from this tournament of a total of eight teams will get entry into the Global Qualifier. In such a situation, Namibia's hopes of reaching the World Cup are not over yet.
How many teams will play in World Cup 2027?
This time 14 teams will take the field in the ODI World Cup to be held in the year 2027. Out of these, the places of 10 teams have already been confirmed. The remaining four teams will be decided by qualifier matches. A total of 10 teams will play in this qualifier. These will include the top four teams of League-2 along with Ireland and West Indies and four teams coming from the playoffs.
The team finishing first in the qualifiers will get a chance to play directly in the group stage of the World Cup. At the same time, the teams ranked second, third and fourth will have to enter the super series first. The team which remains at the forefront among these will reach the group stage. The ODI World Cup will be played from 2 October to 21 November 2027. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will host it. There will be 57 matches in the entire tournament, while the title match will be played in Johannesburg, South Africa.