Zimbabwe will play World Cup cricket at home for the first time in 24 years. When the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 begins on 2 October 2027, Zimbabwe will co-host it with South Africa and Namibia — 14 teams, 57 matches, 12 venues, and a home crowd that has waited more than a decade for this. Their last World Cup match was in 2015. They failed to qualify in 2019 and again in 2023. This time, as hosts, their place is guaranteed.
It is a return with real weight behind it. Zimbabwe have played in nine ODI World Cups, with their strongest runs coming in 1999 and 2003 — the last time the tournament was played on African soil, when South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya shared the hosting. Since then the story has been decline: one win from six matches in 2015, then two failed qualifying campaigns. In 2019 they lost to West Indies and the United Arab Emirates in a home qualifier; in 2023 they won five matches in a row, then lost to Sri Lanka and to Scotland by 31 runs in Bulawayo and were out again. The 2027 tournament is the first time in twelve years that Zimbabwe will play on the sport’s biggest stage.
Zimbabwe’s fixtures
Zimbabwe are in Group A with India, Australia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and one qualifier. Four of their five group opponents qualified directly as top-eight ODI sides — there is no gentle start for the hosts. Their five league matches:
9 October 2027 — Zimbabwe v Qualifier A, Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
11 October 2027 — Zimbabwe v Afghanistan, Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
15 October 2027 — Zimbabwe v Australia, Harare Sports Club, Harare
19 October 2027 — Zimbabwe v Pakistan, Harare Sports Club, Harare
24 October 2027 — Zimbabwe v India, Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium, Victoria Falls
Ten of the tournament’s 57 matches will be played in Zimbabwe: four in Harare, two in Bulawayo and four in Victoria Falls. The India match on 24 October will be the first World Cup match at the new Mosi-oa-Tunya stadium, a 10,000-seat ground due for completion in mid-2027. The tournament final is in Johannesburg on 21 November 2027. For the full tournament picture — dates, all 12 venues and the new three-stage format — see our complete Cricket World Cup 2027 guide.
Raza: “The world deserves to see it”
No one in the Zimbabwe side carries the wait more personally than Sikandar Raza. The 40-year-old all-rounder, the team’s senior player, told the ICC that the tournament is a chance to show the world what his country offers — and a personal milestone at the end of his career.
“From a collective point of view, I do think the world really needs to see what Africa has to offer: the beauty, the crowd, the vibe and everything that we have to offer in Zimbabwe, especially,” Raza said. “The world deserves to see it. For people who will find time to travel to Zimbabwe to watch the World Cup, it will be an unforgettable experience.”
On the home World Cup itself: “Every cricketer dreams of having retired or to retire after a World Cup. The fact that I am coming to the end of my career as well, so to have an opportunity to play a home World Cup is certainly a blessing for me from a personal point of view.”
He is equally taken with the Victoria Falls venue. “What we expect from Victoria Falls, as much as cricket is important, but I think outside cricket, beautiful sightings, a peaceful sleep because you can hear the falls, a lovely sunset, and some great human beings and a hospitable environment for everyone.”
Raza is realistic about home advantage — he does not expect familiar conditions to count for much at an ICC tournament — but he likes the new format, which adds a Super Seven stage so teams that play well get more games. Zimbabwe’s preparation includes a tri-series against Bangladesh and Afghanistan and a three-match ODI series in India in January 2027, fixtures arranged outside the Future Tours Programme to get the side ready.
What a home World Cup is worth
For Zimbabwe, 2027 is about more than five group matches. The country last hosted World Cup cricket in 2003, when Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club both staged games. The new Victoria Falls ground gives it a third venue and a genuine tourist draw: a World Cup match with the falls as the backdrop is the kind of image that sells a country. The ticket ballot, which closes on 21 November 2026, drew 120 million requests — demand the hosts could not have imagined during the years they could not even qualify.
The contrast with Namibia, the third co-host, is instructive. Namibia will stage six matches in Windhoek but must still earn its place through the World Cup Qualifier in February and March 2027 — as our Namibia rise story explains. Zimbabwe qualified automatically as a host and Full Member. That is the difference twelve years of waiting buys: not just a place in the tournament, but a home.
The honest test is on the field. Zimbabwe’s group is brutal — India, Australia and Pakistan are three of the strongest ODI sides in the world — and the side’s recent history says qualifying for the Super Seven stage would be an achievement. But for the first time since 2015, Zimbabwe will be there to try. After two qualifying heartbreaks at home, a home World Cup is the reward. Tickets are available through the official ticket ballot, which closes on 21 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
When do Zimbabwe play their first 2027 World Cup match?
On 9 October 2027, against a qualifier at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
How did Zimbabwe qualify for the 2027 World Cup?
Automatically, as co-hosts and an ICC Full Member. South Africa also qualified automatically; Namibia, the third co-host, must still qualify through the World Cup Qualifier.
Where will Zimbabwe’s World Cup matches be played?
Zimbabwe play two matches in Harare, two in Bulawayo and one in Victoria Falls. In total the three Zimbabwean venues stage ten World Cup matches between them: four in Harare, two in Bulawayo and four in Victoria Falls.
