Sri Lanka will no longer stage the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, the International Cricket Council has decided. The ruling, confirmed on 30 August 2026, removes the island from a six-team T20I event that had been pencilled in for 14 to 28 February 2027.
Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the host nation were due to contest the tournament.
The governance issue behind the decision
The ICC’s central objection is the continuing role of the Sri Lankan government in running the game. The governing body has long insisted that its member boards must be run by independent, democratically elected administrations free of state interference.
Sri Lanka was originally given the hosting rights while an elected administration led by Shammi Silva was in charge. That changed when a government-appointed Cricket Transition Committee took over Sri Lanka Cricket, which put the board at odds with the ICC’s principles.
Prakash Schaffter, secretary of the Cricket Transition Committee, confirmed that the ICC had told the committee of the decision. The message was therefore delivered to the interim body that now oversees the sport in the country.
What happens next
The ICC must now find another venue. As of 30 August, no replacement host had been named, and it is not yet clear whether the event will keep its February 2027 window.
The six competing nations listed so far are unchanged, with the eventual host taking the sixth place.
Questions also remain over Sri Lanka’s own participation. It has not been made clear whether the national team will still take part despite losing the hosting role, and the ICC has not said publicly whether the transition committee’s ongoing involvement could bring further consequences for Sri Lanka Cricket.
For now, the withdrawal stands as a notable sanction and a clear signal of how seriously the ICC treats independent governance among its members.
