Pakistan is preparing to host a significant women’s cricket tournament shortly after the Champions Trophy. This upcoming event will determine which teams will qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup, scheduled to take place in India later this year.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to officially announce Pakistan as the host for the Women’s World Cup qualifier. This six-team competition is anticipated to commence on April 4th. Lahore is the likely city to host the matches, though the final schedule and venues are still pending confirmation.
Besides Pakistan, five other teams – Bangladesh, West Indies, Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand – will participate in the qualifier. They will be competing for two available qualification spots in the eight-team World Cup in India. Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and India, as the host nation, have already secured their places in the 50-over World Cup, tentatively planned for October.
This tournament carries extra weight due to the complex relationship between India and Pakistan in cricket. Recent agreements between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), facilitated by the ICC, dictate that global matches between their national teams will be held in neutral locations. This arrangement is also in place for the current Champions Trophy, where India is playing its matches in Dubai.
If the Pakistan women’s team qualifies for the World Cup, a significant question will arise: where would a potential India versus Pakistan match be held? While still a hypothetical situation, it is a point of considerable future interest.
India previously hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2013, employing a partial hybrid model. While most games were in Mumbai, the Pakistan team played their matches in Cuttack due to security concerns related to political tensions in Mumbai.
Back in Pakistan, the qualifier’s schedule may overlap with the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is set to start on April 11th. Both the PCB and ICC will need to adjust dates to prevent conflicts with the T20 franchise league.
The Champions Trophy marked the return of ICC events to Pakistan after 29 years. Pakistan last co-hosted a global event in 1996, the Cricket World Cup, with India and Sri Lanka. Since then, security concerns have prevented ICC events from being held in Pakistan.
