The inaugural Women's Champions Trophy, scheduled for February 2027, will be moved out of Sri Lanka with the SLC set to be stripped of hosting rights. 

Cricinfo has confirmed that the six-team event will be played at a different venue in the same window, and it is likely to be held in India. The new hosts will be confirmed at the next ICC board meeting in October.

Sri Lanka have lost the right to stage the tournament, which was due to be their second ICC event in a year after they also co-hosted the 2026 men's T20 World Cup, because of government interference in their board. The SLC has an interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including to the constitution.

The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.

The change in venue could significantly impact the Sri Lanka side, who only qualified for the event by virtue of it being held in their country. The competition is limited to the top six teams on the ICC rankings and, as of the rankings update on Saturday,

Sri Lanka are currently seventh. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa make up the top five. West Indies are sixth and would have originally missed out but if Sri Lanka do not qualify, then the Caribbean could sneak in.

This will be the second time in three years that Sri Lanka have lost out on an ICC event. In 2023, the 2024 men's Under-19 World Cup was taken away from them for the same reasons and moved to South Africa.

Source: Cricinfo

– Agencies