India vs Pakistan match to take place in Women's Asian Cup on September 5 in Dubai

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) approved the schedule for the Women's Asia T20 Cup 2026 on Thursday. The eight-team tournament will take place in Dubai from August 28 to September 13, according to Cricinfo.

The tournament kicks off with a Group A match between Hong Kong and Thailand on August 28. A significant group clash between India and Pakistan is scheduled for September 5. All games will be played under lights at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The final match is slated for September 13.

Group A includes India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, and Thailand. In Group B, featuring defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the host nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) will also participate.

An important Group B match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is planned for September 6. During the group stage, each team will play against the other teams in its group once. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

The first semi-final, pitting the winners of Group A against the mid-table teams of Group B, will take place on September 10. The second semi-final, between the mid-table teams of Group A and the winners of Group B, is scheduled for September 11.

This upcoming edition will be the sixth Women's Asia Cup in T20 format. Sri Lanka participates as the reigning champion after winning the previous edition, while Bangladesh won the title in 2018. India is the most successful team in this competition, having won the title three times in T20 format—in 2012, 2016, and 2022.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has finalized the schedule for the ODI World Cup 2027 qualification matches. This important tournament, which will feature 10 teams, is scheduled from February 22 to March 23, 2027, although the host country has not yet been decided, according to Cricinfo.

In July 2026, the ICC introduced a new format for the ODI World Cup 2027, significantly increasing the importance of the qualifiers. The winner of this 10-team tournament will gain direct entry into the main group stage of the World Cup, which will consist of 14 teams. Teams finishing second, third, and fourth in the qualifiers will participate in the first phase super series of the World Cup, from which the best team will advance to the stage with 12 main teams.

The ODI World Cup 2027 itself will take place from October 4 to November 11, 2027, across 12 different venues in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Qualification Participants

Ten teams will participate in the qualifiers. These will include two teams with the lowest rankings among full members, excluding the host nations of South Africa and Zimbabwe, based on the ODI ranking as of September 30, 2026. Additionally, four teams from CWC League 2 will be included. Another four teams will proceed through the World Cup qualification playoffs.

The World Cup qualification playoffs will see the four lower-ranked teams from CWC League 2 compete against four teams from the Challenge League. The format for these eight teams has not yet been determined, but the top four teams will qualify for the World Cup. Within the Challenge Group, 12 teams will be divided into two groups, and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs.

Threat for West Indies

Currently, the West Indies rank tenth in the ODI rankings and must play two matches against India in September before their cutoff is determined. The fate of the team may also be decided by the series between Afghanistan (8th place) and Ireland (12th place).

If Ireland wins against Afghanistan by a score of 4-1 or 5-0, two victories against India could propel the West Indies into the top 8. However, if Afghanistan wins this series, the West Indies will likely have to participate in the qualifiers. It is worth noting that in 2023, the West Indies failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup after losing to the Netherlands in a super over during the qualifiers held in Harare.