New Delhi: India has replaced Sri Lanka as the hosts of the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy, to be played from February 14-28, 2027, as the island nation continues to deal with administrative reforms following government interference in its cricket board.
In a statement, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said the six-team tournament will now be held in two venues — the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium. Interestingly, the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, where India won the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, is not on the list of venues for the competition.
“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,” said the ICC.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is currently governed by an interim ‘Transformation Committee’ installed by the Sri Lankan government to execute constitutional and administrative overhauls. As the ICC strictly prohibits political interference and refuses to recognise government-appointed bodies, SLC representatives have been barred from attending ICC board meetings since the committee’s formation.
The ICC also said India was selected as the replacement host following an evaluation process that also considered proposals from Bangladesh and South Africa, with the decision ratified by the ICC Board on Wednesday.
“The ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027 marks an exciting new chapter for women’s cricket. As the inaugural edition of the tournament, it will bring together the best teams in the world in an intense, high-quality competition, while creating even greater incentive for teams to continue rising through the rankings and competing for a place on the global stage.”
“With a marquee ICC women’s event now taking place every year, we have a significant opportunity to build greater momentum, provide more consistency and create a stronger rhythm for the women’s game, its players and its fans around the world,” said ICC Chairman.
The tournament will feature a round-robin format between the six qualified sides – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, with the top two teams advancing to the final on February 28. The six teams qualified as per their positions in the ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings on the qualification cut-off date of July 6.
The relocation marks the second time in recent years Sri Lanka has been stripped of a global event over administrative issues, following the shifting of the 2024 Men’s Under-19 World Cup to South Africa. The ICC stated that full match schedules and ticketing details for the 2027 Women’s Champions Trophy will be released at a later date.
(IANS)
