ICC strips Sri Lanka of Women's Champions Trophy hosting rights

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to move next year's inaugural Women's Champions Trophy from Sri Lanka to India. Sri Lanka had been scheduled to host the six-team event but has now lost the hosting rights due to ongoing issues within the country's cricket board and, according to the ICC, government interference in its affairs.

Reasons behind the decision

According to an ICC statement, Sri Lanka Cricket is continuing to work on the required reforms that were outlined at the ICC's annual conference in July. This suggests the reforms have not yet been fully completed, which became the main reason for stripping the country of the hosting rights.

New host confirmed

Bangladesh and South Africa had also expressed interest in staging the tournament, but the ICC board ratified India as the replacement host. Matches will be held in Mumbai and Vadodara.

Format and participating teams

Unlike the men's Champions Trophy, which is played in a 50-over format, the women's tournament will be contested in T20 format. It will follow a round-robin structure, with the top two teams advancing to the final.

Six teams will take part: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. These sides qualified as the highest-ranked teams as of the cut-off date of 6 July.

The decision marks a significant shift in the tournament's planning, as Sri Lanka was originally set to be the host nation, with that responsibility now passing entirely to India.