Mumbai's Cricket Club of India to Co-Host Inaugural Women's Champions Trophy
The Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium will serve as the host venues for the first-ever Women's Champions Trophy, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Wednesday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken over the hosting responsibilities for the six-team competition.
The tournament is scheduled to take place from 14 to 28 February, featuring the world's leading women's national sides competing in the Twenty20 format. The participating nations are Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka was originally slated to stage the competition. However, the country was stripped of its hosting rights after the ICC determined there was government interference in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). SLC is presently operating under a transformation committee, prompting the world governing body to find an alternative venue.
To determine the replacement host, the ICC evaluated three candidates: India, Bangladesh, and South Africa. Each bid was assessed against the council's established host evaluation criteria. Following the review process, the ICC recommended India to step in, and the decision was officially ratified by the ICC Board on 2 September.
Under the selected setup, fixtures will be split between Mumbai's historic Cricket Club of India ground and the venue in Vadodara. The six qualifying teams secured their berths based on their standings in the ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings as of the 6 July qualification cut-off date.
The tournament structure features a round-robin league format where all six teams play against one another. Following the conclusion of the league phase, the top two sides on the points table will advance directly to the final, which is scheduled to be played on 28 February.
While the Champions Trophy has been a staple in men's international cricket for more than two decades, this event marks its debut in the women's game. Unlike the men's version, which has traditionally been contested in the 50-over one-day international format, the women's tournament will be played entirely as a T20 competition.
