New Delhi, Sep 2026 : India will host the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy from February 14 to 28, 2027, replacing Sri Lanka as the tournament hosts amid ongoing administrative reforms in the island nation’s cricketing body.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday that the six-team tournament will be staged across two venues in India — the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium. The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where India lifted the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, has not been included among the venues for the competition.
The tournament was initially scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka. However, the ICC said the event was shifted to India as Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) continues to implement reforms mandated by the global governing body.
“The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka but will now be staged in India as Sri Lanka Cricket continues to make the requisite reforms outlined at the ICC’s Annual Conference in July,” the ICC said in a statement.
Sri Lanka Cricket has been operating under an interim Transformation Committee established by the Sri Lankan government to oversee constitutional and administrative changes. The ICC has long maintained a strict position against government interference in the functioning of national cricket boards and does not recognise government-appointed cricket administrations.
As a result, representatives of SLC have been barred from participating in ICC Board meetings since the interim committee was established.
India was selected as the replacement host following an evaluation of proposals submitted by several countries. The ICC said bids from Bangladesh and South Africa were also considered before India emerged as the preferred option. The decision was formally ratified by the ICC Board on Wednesday.
The inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy will feature Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The six teams secured qualification based on their positions in the ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings as of the July 6 qualification cut-off date.
The tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with each team competing against the others. The top two sides at the end of the league phase will qualify for the final, scheduled to be played on February 28.
The ICC Chairman described the inaugural edition as an important milestone for women’s cricket, saying the tournament would bring together leading teams and provide greater incentives for nations to improve their rankings and compete for a place on the global stage.
The ICC said the annual calendar of major women's events presents an opportunity to build sustained momentum around the women's game, offering greater consistency for players, teams and supporters worldwide.
Sri Lanka’s loss of hosting rights represents another setback for its cricket administration. It is the second recent occasion on which the country has lost an ICC global event because of administrative concerns. The 2024 Men’s Under-19 World Cup was previously moved to South Africa following issues surrounding government involvement in Sri Lanka Cricket.
The ICC said the complete match schedule and ticketing information for the 2027 Women’s Champions Trophy will be announced at a later date.
