All you need to know about Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026
The second edition of the tournament will be played from 12 to 25 November in the UAE in the T20I format.
The ICC Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 will be hosted in the United Arab Emirates, starting Thursday, 12 November.
With 10 teams participating – two more than the previous edition – the tournament will feature five full ICC members.
This will mark the second edition of the competition, which began in 2025, when hosts Thailand won the inaugural title.
As the countdown to the tournament begins, we take a look at the details regarding the tournament:
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Best of Nahida Akter | WT20WC 2024
Groups
The second edition of the tournament will see 10 teams, an upgrade from eight in 2025. Five full Members – Ireland, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – will be joined by the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates in the battle for the title.
The teams have been split into two groups of five teams each.
Group A: Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates
Group B: Bangladesh, Netherlands, Pakistan, Thailand, Zimbabwe
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Squads
Many of the teams that will take the field at the Women’s Emerging Nations Trophy 2026 have already named their squads and some of the teams are starting to assemble in the UAE.
Harshitha Samarawickrama will lead Sri Lanka in the absence of regular skipper Chamari Athapaththu, while Nahida Akter will take charge of Bangladesh at the tournament after she replaced Nigar Sultana as captain recently.
Fixtures
All matches will be played in Ajman, with fixtures split between the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground and the Seven Districts Sports Club.
The tournament will get underway on the morning of 12 November, with Sri Lanka taking on Ireland at the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground and Papua New Guinea facing Scotland at the Seven Districts Sports Club. Pakistan will meet Bangladesh and the Netherlands will take on Thailand in the afternoon fixtures.
The group stage will run from 12 to 18 November, with the top three teams from each group progressing to the Super Six phase.
The Super Six fixtures will be played on 20, 22 and 23 November, with each qualifying team from one group playing the three teams qualifying from the other group, at the end of which the top two teams will qualify for the summit clash.
The tournament will conclude with the final on 25 November at the Karwan Sports Club Cricket Ground.
How to watch
All matches will be live on ICC.TV, including the final on November 25.
Just sign into your ICC Family account for all the details.
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Defending champions
Thailand were crowned the first-ever champions in 2025, as they trumped seven other sides en route to the trophy.
The victory marked a historic first-ever ICC trophy for Thailand in international cricket.
The tournament saw four sides - Thailand, UAE, Scotland and the Netherlands - finish on equal points and the winner was eventually decided by net run rate.
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UAE clinched a close seven-run win against Thailand at the ICC Women's Emerging Nations Trophy 2025.