On International Women’s Day, ICC announces Women’s T20 Champions Cup among other expansions

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on the occasion of International Women’s Day announced new developments for women cricket in the upcoming time. 

The major announcements included the introduction of an ICC Women’s T20 Champions Cup which would feature six top teams from the world and would be a quadrennial event. Apart from that, the number of teams in the premium competitions the T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup would also be increased.

“We have a clear focus and commitment to an ambitious long-term growth plan for the women’s game. We have been building momentum around women’s game for the last four years investing in global broadcast coverage and marketing to drive fan engagement,” Manu Sawhney, ICC Chief Executive said in a press release. 

The Women’s T20 Champions Cup would begin from 2027 onwards. As far as increasing the number of teams are concerned, the 2025 ODI World Cup would have eight teams, but the number would be increased to 10 in 2029. As far as the T20 World Cup is concerned, the increase in the number of teams would start from 2026. The number of teams would increase from 10 to 12. 

Sawhney, while recounting the success of the women’s game, said that the foundation for the expansion was laid down by that only. 

“This decision to expand our women’s events builds on these foundations and allows us to give more member countries greater opportunities to compete on a global stage,” said Sawhney. 

“This means that more teams will also get the opportunity to compete in the qualification pathways for the respective ICC events over the coming years. I am sure these initiatives will go a long way in helping us achieve our strategic goal of continuing to build strength and depth in the women’s game,” he added.