Web Desk: The inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy will be played in India from Feb. 14 to 28, with Pakistan missing from the six-team tournament, the International Cricket Council said.
The first edition of the competition will feature Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Organisers will stage all matches at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium in Vadodara.
The ICC initially planned to hold the tournament in Sri Lanka. However, the governing body moved the event to India after Sri Lanka Cricket continued work on reforms requested following the ICC’s annual conference in July.
The ICC considered Bangladesh, India and South Africa as potential replacement hosts before selecting India under its established host-evaluation process. The ICC Board approved the decision on Sept. 1.
The change gives India hosting rights for another major women’s international event while allowing the inaugural Champions Trophy to proceed as scheduled.
The tournament will use the T20 International format and follow a round-robin structure. Each of the six teams will play the others in the league phase, with the top two advancing to the final on Feb. 28.
Australia enters the competition as the reigning ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champion after reclaiming the title in England in July. Meanwhile, India currently holds the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup crown.
Pakistan’s exclusion means the team will not take part in the first edition of the Champions Trophy, despite the tournament offering a new international platform for leading women’s cricket teams.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah said the inaugural competition would add momentum to the women’s game by creating another pathway for teams to compete at the highest level.
He said the annual schedule of major ICC women’s events could help build greater consistency for players, teams and fans while increasing the importance of international rankings.
The six participating teams will now compete to become the first winners of the women’s Champions Trophy when the tournament begins in India in February.
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