ICC reschedules inaugural Women's Champions Trophy

AHMEDABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has pulled back the window for the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy, set to be hosted by Sri Lanka in 2027, from June-July to February.

The change in the schedule for the eight-team tournament was approved at the ICC Board meeting, held in Ahmedabad on Sunday, however no reason was provided for the tweak.

The Women's Champions Trophy, first proposed in 2022, will be played in T20 format from February 14 to 28, and thus will coincide with New Zealand's white-ball tour of Australia, comprising six matches, scheduled to be played between February 27 and March 7.

Consequently, Cricket Australia has been informed regarding the change and is considering its options, a report by an international cricket news website claimed.

The apex body also rebranded the ICC Women's Emerging Nations Trophy as a 10-team event this year, featuring five full members and as many associate nations, selected based on the rankings.

Notably, the first edition of the tournament played last year and won by Thailand had featured only the top Associate sides.

The ICC also endorsed the qualification pathway for the Women's T20 World Cup 2028, which will be hosted by Pakistan under the fusion formula, meaning India will get to play their matches at a neutral venue, which is yet to be determined.

As per the qualification pathway, ten of the 12 teams will qualify automatically, including the top eight teams from the upcoming mega event in England and Wales, besides the host nation and the next highest-ranked teams in the women's T20I rankings as of July 6, 2026.

The remaining two teams will be determined through regional qualifiers, followed by a 10-team global qualifying event.