ICC Announces New Tournament Called Women's T20 Champions Cup, To Be Played In 2027 and 2031

The International Cricket Council (ICC) stated on Monday, International Women's Day, that women's cricket events will continue to be expanded after the 2023 cycle. According to a media release from the ICC, more teams will participate in the Women's World Cup and the Women's T20 World Cup starting in 2026 as part of the organization's long-term goal to develop the sport internationally and sustainably. More teams will have the opportunity to participate on a global scale thanks to the updated formats, which also, crucially, provide participants a window of opportunity to develop their home game in preparation for future international competitions.

Four T20 World Cups are planned for 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030, while two 50-over World Cups will take place between 2025 and 2029.

The Women's T20 Champions Cup, which will be held in 2027 and 2031, is another new competition that the sport's regulatory body has announced.

"We have a clear focus and commitment to an ambitious long-term growth plan for the women's game. We have been building momentum around the women's game for the last four years investing in global broadcast coverage and marketing to drive fan engagement.
~Manu Sawhney, ICC Chief Executive said,

"The results speak for themselves with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 attracting record numbers, 1.1 billion video views, making it the most-watched women's cricket event of all time and having 86,174 fans attending the final at the MCG, a record attendance for a women's cricket event.

"This decision to expand our women's events builds on these foundations and allows us to give more member countries greater opportunities to compete on a global stage. This means that more teams will also get the opportunity to compete in the qualification pathways for the respective ICC events over the coming years. I am sure these initiatives will go a long way in helping us achieve our strategic goal of continuing to build strength and depth in the women's game,"
~he added

Australia and India faced off in the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup final at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in front of a record-breaking crowd. Over 80,000 spectators witnessed Australia win the championship.