ICC Board approves key women’s cricket pathway decisions

Revised tournament dates, a new development competition and a clear qualification route headline vital women’s cricket decisions from the ICC Board meeting in Ahmedabad.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has approved a series of significant measures to strengthen the global women’s cricket pathway, including changes to major event windows, the launch of a new development tournament, and the qualification structure for future ICC events.

Post the meeting in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday, the Board confirmed that the ICC Women’s Champions Trophy 2027 will be played from 14 to 28 February 2027, moving from its originally scheduled June-July window.

The Board also approved the format of the ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026, which will be piloted as a 10-team competition featuring five Full Members and five Associate Members. Teams will qualify based on rankings and previous ICC Women’s T20 World Cup qualification performances.

In another key decision, the Board endorsed the qualification pathway for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2028, which will be hosted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with India matches to be played at a neutral venue.

The 12-team tournament will feature automatic qualification for 10 teams, including the top eight teams from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, the host nation if not already qualified, and the next highest-ranked team(s) on the ICC Women’s T20I rankings as of 6 July 2026. 

The remaining two places will be determined through a 10-team Global Qualifier, which will be supported by Regional Qualifiers. Regional allocations will be finalised during the ICC’s July meetings.

ICC Chairman, Mr Jay Shah, said: "Our discussions in Ahmedabad have reinforced the ICC’s commitment to governance, administration and the growth of cricket globally. 

“From women’s cricket and emerging nations to the management of franchise competitions, today’s discussions and decisions aim to ensure that cricket remains fair, competitive, and exciting for fans worldwide."

Other decisions taken by the ICC Board include:

• Approval in principle for a Global Qualifier pathway for ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, with management tasked with finalising a competition structure and qualification pathway for a 16-team Global Qualifier.

• Confirmation that teams competing in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League will remain eligible to play other List A limited-overs matches during each tournament cycle.

• Approval to trial the use of a pink ball in Test matches, subject to agreement from both participating teams, to maximise play in anticipated poor light conditions.

• Updates to playing conditions, including allowing head coaches or their designees to consult with teams during scheduled drinks intervals, mandating 15-minute intervals in T20I matches, and requiring batters to be ready at the resumption of play. 

• Permanent adoption of the legside wides trial.

• Adoption of all remaining MCC Laws of Cricket changes effective from 1 October 2026.

• The ICC Board resolved to suspend Cricket Canada from ICC membership with immediate effect due to serious breaches of its membership obligations.

  In taking this decision, the ICC Board was mindful of the importance of protecting the interests of Canadian players and ensuring they are not disadvantaged by the governance issues affecting the national governing body. Accordingly, Canadian national representative teams will continue to be eligible to participate in ICC events during the period of suspension.