Sri Lanka has lost the hosting rights for the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy after the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided it could not proceed with the country while Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) remains under a government-appointed interim administration.
The six-team tournament was scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka from February 14 to 28, 2027, but the event has now been taken away from the country, an SLC official confirmed.
“Yes, it has been moved out of Sri Lanka,” said Prakash Shaffter, Secretary of the SLC Transformation Committee.
“It will be played at another venue, but as of now, I am not sure where it will be played.”
A new venue is likely to be decided at the next ICC Board meeting.
The decision is expected to have a financial impact on both SLC and Sri Lanka. Shaffter said SLC was “disappointed” with the ICC’s decision.
SLC is currently being run by a government-appointed Transformation Committee, which was brought in to oversee reforms to the board, including changes to its constitution and governance structure.
The ICC does not recognise politically appointed interim administrations and has refused to allow SLC representatives to attend ICC Board meetings since the Transformation Committee took over.
In July, the ICC said in a statement: “The ICC Board received an update on Sri Lanka Cricket and noted progress towards a revised Constitution. It reiterated the need for elections to be held as soon as possible and agreed that Sri Lanka Cricket would continue to be unable to be represented at ICC Board meetings for the time being.”
The committee has completed a draft constitution and handed it over to the Sports Minister. The proposed changes will now have to go through the required legal process before being presented to Parliament.
That process, however, is unlikely to be completed quickly, leaving the question of when SLC will return to an elected administration recognised by the ICC.
The ICC has repeatedly stressed that cricket boards in its member countries must be free from government interference and run through an elected administration. Sri Lanka’s present arrangement has therefore remained a major issue, particularly when it comes to hosting international events.
Losing the Champions Trophy is another financial blow for both SLC and the country. An ICC tournament would have generated direct income for SLC while bringing teams, officials, broadcasters and spectators to Sri Lanka. Hotels, restaurants, transport companies and the wider tourism industry would also have benefited from the influx of visitors and the resulting foreign exchange earnings. Sri Lanka has been down this road before.
In 2023, the ICC stripped Sri Lanka of the hosting rights for the 2024 Under-19 World Cup after the then Sports Minister dissolved the elected SLC administration and appointed an interim committee. The tournament was subsequently moved to South Africa.
Apart from the financial loss, Sri Lanka’s women’s team could now face another setback.
The inaugural Champions Trophy is a six-team tournament, with the top five teams in the rankings expected to qualify alongside the host nation. Sri Lanka are currently ranked sixth. If the tournament is moved to a country outside the top six, Sri Lanka could therefore lose its place in the competition altogether.
That would mean losing not only the opportunity to host the first Women’s Champions Trophy, but potentially the chance for the national team to play in it.
Although the tournament has already been taken away from Sri Lanka, the ICC has yet to make an official public announcement confirming the decision or explaining the reasons for the change.
