India to host ICC Women's Championship Trophy 2027 after Sri Lanka withdrawal

The Indian team could potentially play a series of one-day matches in South Africa ahead of the 2027 One Day International World Cup. Negotiations are currently underway between the BCCI and CSA regarding a series of four or six games.

The team management has requested the opportunity to play in African climatic conditions. Since the new ICC calendar is not yet approved, there is a high probability that this series will be organized immediately before the start of the World Cup.

This visit is considered extremely important for preparation for the upcoming tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) are discussing the series, which the team itself has requested.

The 2027 World Cup is scheduled for October-November in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Therefore, the leadership of the Indian squad wishes to provide the team with a sufficient number of matches in African conditions before the start of the global tournament.

According to current discussions, the option of holding a series of four or six one-day matches between India and South Africa is being considered. The exact number of games or schedule has not been determined yet.

According to the Indian Express, following a request from the Indian team's management, the BCCI contacted the CSA. The goal of this contact is to ensure players have maximum time on the field in African conditions and to prepare the team for local characteristics. Thus, this will not just be a routine bilateral series, but part of the preparation for the World Cup.

During the World Cup, the teams will face South African conditions. Playing in these conditions will allow Indian athletes to study aspects such as pitch type, ball bounce, weather, and playing against fast bowlers.

The series conducted immediately before the World Cup is particularly important because it will give players the opportunity to quickly adapt to the conditions. This is why the team management put forward the need to play in Africa before the BCCI.

According to available data, the new ICC calendar is not yet ready, which removes major obstacles to planning this series shortly before the World Cup.

The current ICC calendar for the period 2023–2027 does not include such a one-day series between India and South Africa before the World Cup. According to the current plan, bilateral events for India run until approximately March 2027, after which the World Cup takes place in October-November 2027. This long gap allows for finding a slot for a series against South Africa.

Since the new ICC calendar has not been approved, the BCCI and CSA have the opportunity to make changes to the schedule. Within India's internal schedule for 2026–2027, three one-day matches against West Indies, five matches against New Zealand, and three one-day matches against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are planned. Additionally, T20I matches against Afghanistan, West Indies, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka are scheduled. After this, India is set to play a test series in New Zealand and a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home against Australia. Due to this tight schedule, the BCCI is concerned about player workload and physical fitness.

Previously, in December 2023, India played a one-day series in South Africa, winning it 2-1. In the first match in Johannesburg, India defeated South Africa by a score of 116:8. In the second match, South Africa managed to win by 8 wickets. The third match in Parle ended with an Indian victory by 78 runs, allowing them to win the series. In this series, Sanju Samson scored a hundred in the decisive third match, and Arshdeep Singh demonstrated brilliant bowling, taking 10 wickets. Sai Sudarshan also impressed in that series, scoring 127 runs across three matches. After this, India visited South Africa in November 2024 for T20I matches, but the current ICC calendar does not include a one-day series against the host country of the World Cup.

As of now, the final dates or the number of matches in the one-day series against South Africa have not been set. However, if negotiations between the BCCI and CSA are successful, this series on African soil could become a significant stimulus for the team's preparation before the start of the World Cup.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to revoke Sri Lanka's rights to host the 2027 Women's World Cup. This tournament, scheduled to take place from February 14 to 28, will no longer be held in Sri Lanka.

The main reason for this decision was the government's interference in the operations of the Sri Lankan cricket board. There is a strict ICC regulation stipulating that the government must not exercise direct control or interfere with the work of any national cricket council.

In April of this year, the Sri Lankan government temporarily took control of the board by establishing a transformation commission to oversee cricket activities. Although the ICC repeatedly demanded elections to form an independent board, this did not happen, which prompted the ICC to take strong measures.

Prakash Shafter, Secretary of the transformation commission, confirmed that the tournament has been removed from Sri Lanka, but it has not yet been determined where it will be held.

A similar situation occurred previously: due to state interference, the Sri Lankan cricket board was suspended for several months in 2023–2024. During that period, the country suffered serious consequences, losing the right to host the 2024 U-19 Men's World Cup, which was handed over to South Africa.

The venue for the next tournament for the six teams has not yet been determined and will be decided at the next ICC council meeting. There is also a question regarding the possibility of the Sri Lankan women's team participating in this tournament. Since the teams with the highest rankings and the host nation were originally supposed to qualify, and the Sri Lankan team currently ranks sixth, the revocation of hosting rights jeopardizes its participation.

In the match between the Indian and Sri Lankan teams, scheduled for Sunday (August 23) at the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) stadium in Colombo, attention will be focused on the performances of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Furthermore, Shubman Brigade has an opportunity to create history.

After winning the first Test in Galle, where the Indian team won by 165 runs, the team is leading the series 1-0. Now, the team under Shubman Gill's leadership has the chance to win the series 2-0 in Sri Lanka.

This match is highly significant for India as it has been three years since the team won a Test series away from home. India last won a Test series on foreign soil in July 2023 against the West Indies. Following that, the team lost a series in Australia, and confrontations with South Africa and England ended in draws abroad.

Disappointment from losses against New Zealand and South Africa on home grounds also overshadowed the brilliance of the Indian Test team. Therefore, the victory in Galle was a significant relief for the team. Although Sri Lankan spinners created difficulties for Indian batsmen on the tricky pitch, India managed to maintain control of the match.

If India wins in Colombo and wins the series 2-0, its position in the ICC Test Championship table could improve. With a clean collection of points, India could reach 57.58 percent, which would increase its chances for fourth place. Currently, Bangladesh is in fourth place with 66.67 percent. If Bangladesh loses the second Test against Australia in Darwin, its points could drop to 55.56 percent, and it might slip to fifth place, opening the path for India to fourth place. Thus, the Test in Colombo is important not only for winning the series but also for the battle in the Test Championship.

Despite the victory in Galle, the Indian team expects a big performance from its captain, Shubman Gill. Gill has been in excellent form, scoring two centuries in the last six matches and showing good overall momentum. However, he consistently shows a weakness against spinners, especially traditional left-arm spinners.

In the Test in Galle, Prabhat Jayasuriya dismissed Gill in both innings: he scored 16 runs in the first innings and 8 in the second. In Test cricket, Gill has already been dismissed 11 times against left-arm spinners. This is why Gill spent a lot of time training against left-arm spinners in Colombo on Friday. He practiced his technique against Manav Sutara, Ravindra Jadeja, and some local bowlers.

As a captain, Gill's statistics are impressive: he has scored 1100 runs in 10 Tests with an average of over 73. Before taking on the captaincy duties, he scored 1893 runs in 32 Tests with an average of around 35. Now, Gill faces a double task: overcoming his weakness against spinners and achieving the first Test series victory away from home under his leadership. If he performs well with the bat, this phase of his captaincy could become even more special.

Yashasvi Jaiswal's form is also a concern for the Indian team. After scoring a century against the West Indies in New Delhi last year, Jaiswal managed to score only one half-century in his last eight innings. A certain pattern has also emerged in his problems: he loses a wicket while trying to play across or over the point against fast bowlers. In the Test in Galle, Jaiswal was dismissed due to run-out in the first innings. He did not last long in the second innings either. While attempting to play a cross shot off a short ball by Asith Fernando, the ball touched the edge of the bat, and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickve was able to catch it.

After this, Jaiswal spent a lot of time on the SSC practice ground on Friday. Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel made him play against balls outside the stumps. The goal was to provoke Jaiswal into playing a cross or over the point. However, this time Jaiswal showed good situational awareness. He missed many balls and allowed them to pass behind the batsman.

Indian bowlers who failed to make an impact in the first Test include Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep bowled 25 overs in both innings of the Test in Galle and took only one wicket, conceding 103 runs. His only wicket came thanks to a brilliant catch by Shubman Gill. The question arises whether the team management will give the off-spinner Saransha Jain a chance instead of Kuldeep. There are several left-handed batsmen in the Sri Lankan squad, so the option of Saransha's off-spin could be strategically useful for the Indian team. However, removing such an experienced bowler as Kuldeep after one Test is not an easy decision. Kuldeep attended the practice sessions on Friday but did not participate in bowling or batting.