Pakistan women have been left out of the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027, ending their hopes of featuring in another major global event just months after a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign.
The six-team tournament will be held in Mumbai and Vadodara from February 14 to 28, 2027. Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka have qualified for the competition, with the teams earning their places based on their positions in the ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings at the July 6, 2026 qualification cut-off.
For Pakistan, the exclusion is particularly significant because they have regularly featured in recent ICC events across men’s and women’s cricket. Their poor ranking meant they failed to make the six-team cut, while Sri Lanka secured the final available place among the qualified sides.
The last time Pakistan missed an ICC event was the Women’s ODI World Cup in 2005, hosted by South Africa. They made their ODI World Cup debut in 1997 before missing the 2000 edition in New Zealand and then the 2005 tournament. Since returning to the World Cup in 2009, Pakistan have regularly featured at the global level, making their absence from the inaugural Champions Trophy a significant setback.
The Champions Trophy will feature a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the final. The tournament was originally scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka, but the ICC confirmed on September 2 that India would stage the inaugural edition instead.
PAKISTAN’S RECENT T20I STRUGGLES
Pakistan’s exclusion from the Women’s Champions Trophy reflects their struggles to remain among the leading teams in T20I cricket. Their disappointing Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in England highlighted those concerns, with Pakistan losing four of their five group matches.
They opened with a 64-run defeat against India before suffering further losses to South Africa and Bangladesh. Their heaviest defeat came against Australia, who posted 199/7 before bowling Pakistan out for just 86 in 13.4 overs to win by 113 runs. Pakistan eventually registered their only victory of the tournament, beating the Netherlands by 37 runs. Their one-win record underlined their struggles for consistency against the leading sides.
Pakistan’s struggles continued after the World Cup. They lost the opening two matches of a three-game T20I series against Sri Lanka before salvaging some pride with a four-wicket win in the final game.
However, they have made a positive start to their Women’s Asia Cup campaign. Pakistan defeated Thailand by 35 runs in Dubai after posting 119/9, with Muneeba Ali scoring 54. Sadia Iqbal then claimed three wickets for 11 runs as Thailand were restricted to 84/8.
Pakistan now face a much bigger challenge when they take on arch-rivals India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, on Saturday, September 5, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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