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The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday that India will host the 2025 Women’s World Cup.
Apart from India, Bangladesh and England will host T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, respectively, while Sri Lanka will host the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027, subject to qualifying.
The ICC Board ratified the venues for four marquee women’s global events, which are part of the next cycle of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, on Tuesday in Birmingham, on the final day of the global cricket body’s annual conference.
According to the ICC, the hosts were chosen through a “competitive bidding process,” with each bid reviewed by a board sub-committee chaired by Martin Snedden and including Clare Connor, Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Skerritt.
“We are delighted to have awarded ICC women’s white ball events to Bangladesh, India, England and Sri Lanka. Accelerating the growth of the women’s game is one of the ICC’s strategic priorities and taking these events to some of our sport’s biggest markets give us a fantastic opportunity to do that and deepen its connection with cricket’s one billion plus fans,” said ICC Chairman Greg Barclay in a statement.
India will host the Women’s ODI World Cup for the fifth time in 2025, and it will be the country’s first global women’s tournament since the T20 World Cup ran concurrently with the men’s event in 2016. The 2025 edition is expected to be similar to the 2022 edition, with eight teams participating and a total of 31 matches played.
When it comes to India hosting the grand event in 2025, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly says it’s a step in the right direction for the popularity of women’s cricket.
“India hosted the 50-over women’s World Cup in 2013 and the sport has undergone tremendous transformation since then. The popularity of women’s cricket is rapidly rising, and this is a step in the right direction. The BCCI will work closely with the ICC and fulfil all the requirements,” said Ganguly.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that the board “will leave no stone unturned to make it a memorable event,” and that the ICC tournament is expected to increase the sport’s popularity even further.
“We are taking several steps to raise the profile of the sport right from the grassroots level and hosting the World Cup will further boost the popularity of the sport in the country. The BCCI remains committed to women’s cricket in India. We have the infrastructure in place, and I am confident we will have a very successful edition of the World Cup,” said Shah.
England will be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time since 2009.
“We saw back in 2017 how hosting the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup captured people’s imagination and I’ll never forget watching Heather Knight lift the trophy on that magical day at a sold-out Lord’s,” ECB Interim CEO Clare Connor said.
“Women’s cricket has developed rapidly since then, from the numbers of girls picking up bats through All Stars and Dynamos, joining clubs, and being able to progress on a pathway to the highest levels of performance. We’re seeing right now the positive impact that the Women’s Euros is having for football, and hosting this global cricket event will give us another incredible opportunity to inspire even more girls to pick up a bat and ball,” she added
In turn, Bangladesh will host the Women’s T20 World Cup for the second time.
According to the ICC, the inaugural Women’s ICC Champions Trophy, which will be hosted by Sri Lanka, will be played in T20 format. It will take place in February 2026, with six teams competing for the trophy over the course of 16 matches.
Source:OCN
