India to host inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027; Mumbai, Vadodara named venues

PTC Web Desk: India will host the first-ever ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027, with Mumbai and Vadodara selected as the venues for the six-team tournament.

The competition will be played from February 14 to 28, 2027, with matches scheduled at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Wednesday.

The inaugural tournament will feature Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will not be part of the competition.

Six teams to compete

The six teams secured their places based on their positions in the ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings at the July 6 cut-off.

The tournament will follow a round-robin format, meaning every team will play the other five teams once. The two teams finishing at the top of the points table will qualify for the final, which will be played on February 28.

The Champions Trophy will be played in the T20I format, adding another major event to the international women’s cricket calendar.

Hosting rights shifted from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was originally selected to host the inaugural tournament. However, the ICC has now moved the hosting rights to India as Sri Lanka Cricket continues to work on governance reforms sought by the world cricket body.

The ICC Board had raised concerns about the administration of Sri Lanka Cricket during its Annual Conference in July. While the board noted progress on a revised constitution, it also called for elections to be held at the earliest.

Sri Lanka Cricket has also been temporarily prevented from being represented at ICC Board meetings.

The ICC considered Bangladesh, India and South Africa as possible replacement hosts before recommending India. The decision was formally approved by the ICC Board on September 2.

Another major women's cricket event for India

The tournament will give India another chance to host a major women's cricket event after the country staged the 2025 Women's Cricket World Cup.

The Champions Trophy is also part of the ICC's plan to have a major women's international tournament every year, giving the sport a more regular global calendar.

ICC Chairman Jay Shah said the tournament would bring the leading teams together for a high-quality competition and give teams an added reason to improve their rankings.

He said having a major ICC women's event every year could help build momentum, create greater consistency andm strengthen the connection between women's cricket, its players and fans around the world.

India set for fourth Major ICC event in four years

The 2027 Women's Champions Trophy will be another major ICC tournament hosted by India in a short span.

India hosted the men's ODI World Cup in 2023, the Women's World Cup in 2025 and the men's T20 World Cup, with the Indian team reaching the final in all three tournaments. India won the latter two competitions.

With Mumbai and Vadodara confirmed as the venues, the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy will add another major event to India's growing role as a host of international cricket.