Sri Lanka will host matches during this year’s Women’s World Cup, as part of an ICC arrangement to manage fixtures involving India and Pakistan.
This follows India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the men’s Champions Trophy earlier this year, prompting the ICC to designate neutral venues for tournaments hosted by either country.
Accordingly, Colombo will host all seven of Pakistan’s group stage matches, including high-profile clashes against India and England. The city may also host a semi-final and the final, should Pakistan qualify.
The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to take place from 30th of September to 2nd of November In addition to Colombo, matches will be held in Indian cities including Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore, and Visakhapatnam.
Bengaluru will host the opening match involving India, and the final if Pakistan is not a finalist. The complete fixture list for the eight-team tournament is yet to be announced.
Australia are the reigning champions, having defeated England in the previous World Cup held in New Zealand, which was delayed until 2022 due to the pandemic.
However, concerns have been raised over the potential impact of Sri Lanka’s rainy October weather on the tournament’s smooth conduct.
Political tensions have long prevented regular cricketing ties between India and Pakistan. While Pakistan traveled to India for the 2023 Men’s World Cup, India did not reciprocate for this year’s Champions Trophy, instead playing their matches in Dubai.
Recent cross-border military strikes further escalated tensions, even causing the temporary suspension of both the IPL and PSL in May.
Meanwhile, the opening match of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England will be held at Edgbaston on 12th of June with semi-finals at The Oval and the final at Lord’s on 5th of July .
