ICC Reveals Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 Schedule

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially released the full schedule for the 2025 edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup. Announced Monday, the tournament will see hosts India face off against Sri Lanka in the inaugural match on 30 September in Bengaluru, according to the ICC website.

Defending champions Australia will begin their title defense against New Zealand, the current T20 World Cup champions, in a trans-Tasman clash on 1 October in Indore. The eight-team tournament, spanning across 30 September to 2 November, was confirmed by the ICC, with matches taking place in both India and Sri Lanka.

Five cities have been selected to host the matches, including Bengaluru, Vizag, Indore, Guwahati, and Colombo. The semi-final games are scheduled in Bengaluru and either Colombo or Guwahati, leading to the final match slated for 2 November in Bengaluru or Colombo.

The competition will follow a single round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals. Each team will play two warm-up matches beginning on 24 September.

India's preparations for the event include matches against England and South Africa on 24 and 27 September, respectively. The 2025 edition marks the 13th occurrence of the prestigious tournament since its 1973 inception. Australia, having won their seventh title in 2022, leads the qualification into this World Cup along with five other top ICC Women's Championship teams.

Joining the hosts, teams such as England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka have made the cut via the Women's Championship. The remaining two spots were claimed by Pakistan and Bangladesh following their top-two finish at the Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier held in April.

(With inputs from agencies.)