Home
Pakistan's women's cricket team has finally secured their qualification for the upcoming ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025. Pakistan put on a show in the Women's ODI World Cup qualifier, culminating in a decisive 67-run win against Thailand at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on April 17.
Pakistan seal Women's ODI World Cup berth
Pakistan women's team's unbeaten record of four wins out of four matches propelled them to the final round of the six-nation qualifier. Pakistan thus became the first team to notch a spot from this qualifier, which also includes Bangladesh, West Indies, Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand. The top two teams at the end of this qualifier will earn their place in ODI World Cup 2025, scheduled to be held in India between September and November.
However, Pakistan's qualification for the Women's World Cup has introduced logistical complexities for both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the nation. Since India is the host country for the upcoming World Cup, Pakistan's participation necessitates that the BCCI arrange for Pakistan's matches to be held at a designated 'neutral venue' outside of India. This arrangement not only presents a challenge for the Indian cricket board but also for Indian fans, as the highly anticipated India versus Pakistan match, or matches, will now take place outside of India, the host nation.
This agreement for neutral venues was established between the two cricketing nations following India's decision not to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which was held earlier this year in February and March.
Why Pakistan's World Cup qualification is a big challenge for BCCI?
This decision by the ICC had implications for several upcoming tournaments. It applied to the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025, for which Pakistan was the designated host, as well as the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025, hosted by India, and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Moreover, it was announced that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had been awarded the hosting rights for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2028, where the same neutral venue arrangements would also be in effect for matches involving India.
Precedent for this arrangement was set during the 2025 Men's Champions Trophy when the Indian men's cricket team declined to travel to Pakistan. Consequently, India played all of its matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. This necessitated that teams scheduled to play against India had to undertake travel between Pakistan and Dubai. A similar logistical requirement will now likely be faced by teams that have matches against Pakistan during the upcoming Women's Cricket World Cup.
This situation also presents increased management challenges for the BCCI. As the tournament will not be entirely hosted within India, the board will be responsible for arranging a suitable neutral venue for all matches involving the Pakistani team, adding another layer of complexity to the overall organization of the Women's Cricket World Cup.
Notably, Sports Tak had earlier reported that India's Vizag, Punjab Mullanpur, Indore, Trivandrum, and Guwahati will host the matches of the Women's World Cup 2025. During BCCI’s apex council meeting in Kolkata, it was deliberated that the tournament, spanning over nearly three weeks, will be played across five venues, keeping the weather conditions and logistics in mind.
The showpiece event will be played in India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka. Earlier, the ICC, BCCI, and PCB agreed on a hybrid model for the 2025 Champions Trophy which saw Pakistan hosting the tournament, but India's matches were played at a neutral venue. As part of the agreement, the BCCI also agreed to ensure that Pakistan's matches in future ICC events hosted by India will also be played at a neutral venue.
ADVERTISEMENT
