Sri Lanka have reportedly lost the hosting rights for the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027, with the six-team tournament set to be moved out of the island nation. The event was scheduled to take place from February 14 to 28, 2027.
Why has Sri Lanka lost hosting rights?
SLC Transformation Committee secretary Prakash Shaffter confirmed that the tournament had been moved out of Sri Lanka, according to the Sunday Times. “Yes, it has been moved out of Sri Lanka. It will be played at another venue, but as of now, I am not sure where it will be played,” Shaffter was quoted as saying.
The ICC said in July that SLC needed to hold elections as soon as possible and that the cricket board would continue to be unable to have representation at ICC Board meetings for the time being.
The ICC had originally awarded Sri Lanka the hosting rights for the inaugural six-team Women’s T20 Champions Trophy, subject to the country qualifying for the tournament. The change in host could have consequences beyond the loss of hosting rights for Sri Lanka’s women’s team. The inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy is a six-team competition. Sri Lanka are currently ranked sixth. If the new host is a country outside the top five, the qualification scenario could change and Sri Lanka could potentially miss out on the tournament altogether.
The host is due to be joined by the five highest-ranked teams according to the qualification criteria approved by the ICC. The event’s dates were later confirmed as February 14-28, 2027. At the July 6 cut-off, Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa occupied those five qualification spots, with Sri Lanka entering as hosts.
