Pakistan Not in the First ICC Women's Champions Trophy: Six Teams Play in India in February 2027
The ICC names six teams for the first Women's Champions Trophy, in India from 14 to 28 February 2027. Pakistan missed the T20I ranking cut-off. Full details.
Pakistan will not play in the first ICC Women's Champions Trophy, a six-team T20 tournament in India from 14 to 28 February 2027. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed the field on 6 November 2026: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. India is in as host. The other five got in on the ICC women's T20I team rankings at a cut-off of 6 July 2026.
Pakistan was not in that group. On the ICC women's T20I table we read in October, Pakistan was eighth, behind West Indies and Sri Lanka. Below is the full field, the format, the two venues, why Pakistan missed out, and what Pakistan's women play instead.
Six teams play, and Pakistan is not one of them
The six teams are Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The ICC article of 6 November 2026 says India qualified as host and the rest on the T20I team rankings at the 6 July 2026 cut-off. It names no Pakistan fixture.
We read the ICC article on 6 November 2026. It calls this the "inaugural" Women's Champions Trophy, so there is no earlier edition. It is a T20 event, even though the men's Champions Trophy is a 50-over tournament.
| Detail | What the ICC says |
|---|---|
| Host | India |
| Dates | 14 to 28 February 2027 |
| Format | T20, one league, top two to the final |
| Matches | 15 league matches plus the final, 16 in all |
| Venues | Cricket Club of India, Mumbai, and Vadodara International Cricket Stadium |
| Teams | Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka |
The cut-off was the T20I rankings on 6 July 2026
Places were decided by the ICC women's T20I team rankings on 6 July 2026. With India in as host, the five highest-ranked other teams on that date took the rest. Pakistan was below that line, and the ICC gave no other way in.
The ICC article does not print the table as it stood on 6 July. The closest table we have is the one we read on the ICC website for our page on Pakistan women's ICC rankings. It carried a rank date of 7 October 2026, three months after the cut-off.
| Position | Team | Rating | In the Champions Trophy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 291 | Yes |
| 2 | England | 276 | Yes |
| 3 | India | 264 | Yes, host |
| 4 | New Zealand | 249 | Yes |
| 5 | South Africa | 246 | Yes |
| 6 | West Indies | 238 | No |
| 7 | Sri Lanka | 238 | Yes |
| 8 | Pakistan | 212 | No |
So on the October table, Pakistan was 26 rating points behind Sri Lanka and West Indies. Sri Lanka is in the Champions Trophy while West Indies is not, which tells you the order on 6 July was different from October. Either way, Pakistan needed to be in the top six on 6 July and was not.
The tournament is one league and a final
Each of the six teams plays the other five once, which makes 15 league matches. The top two teams meet in the final on 28 February 2027. There are no semi-finals. The ICC has not yet published the match-by-match schedule or start times.
The two grounds are the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, better known as the Brabourne Stadium, and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium. The ICC article links to a ticket ballot page but gives no prices.
India is 30 minutes ahead of Pakistan. So when start times come out, take 30 minutes off the Indian time to get the time in Pakistan.
Pakistan's women have other events to play
Missing the Champions Trophy does not leave Pakistan's women idle. The Emerging Nations Trophy, for younger and fringe players, starts in Ajman on 12 November with Pakistan in Group B. The senior side's calendar for 2026-27 is in our page on the Pakistan women's cricket calendar.
The Emerging Nations squad is led by Muneeba Ali, as listed on our page on the Pakistan women's Emerging Nations squad. Captain Fatima Sana is playing her first season in Australia's Women's Big Bash League.
The bigger target is the rankings, because they decided entry to this event. Each T20I series Pakistan wins or loses moves its rating. Our page on the route to the LA28 Olympics shows how rankings also feed Olympic places.
How to track Pakistan's ranking from here
The quickest way to see where Pakistan stands is the ICC's own rankings page. It is free and needs no account. These steps take about a minute.
- Open icc-cricket.com and choose Rankings.
- Choose Team Rankings, then Women, then T20I.
- Find Pakistan and note its position and rating.
- Check the rank date shown on the page, because the table updates after each series.
- Compare the gap to sixth place, which was the line for this tournament.
The ICC has not said whether the next Women's Champions Trophy will use the same top-six rule. If it does, closing a 26 point gap is the job.
Common questions
Is Pakistan playing in the ICC Women's Champions Trophy 2027?
No. The six teams are Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
When and where is the Women's Champions Trophy 2027?
In India, from 14 to 28 February 2027, at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium.
Why did Pakistan not qualify?
Places went to the host and the top teams on the ICC women's T20I rankings at the 6 July 2026 cut-off. Pakistan was not high enough.
Is the Women's Champions Trophy a T20 or ODI event?
It is a T20I tournament, the ICC says, with 16 matches in all.
Did West Indies qualify?
No. West Indies is not among the six teams named by the ICC.
Has the full schedule been released?
Not yet. The ICC article gives the dates, venues and format but no match list or start times.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We read the ICC article on the Women's Champions Trophy 2027, dated 6 November 2026, on 6 November about 15:00 PKT. The ranking table comes from the ICC women's T20I team rankings as our desk read it in October 2026, with a rank date of 7 October. We could not see the table as it stood on 6 July 2026.
About the author
Senior Writer, Public Services and Technology
Shahid joined us in 2024 as an author. He is a senior contributor to Pakistan's leading technology websites. He writes detailed articles, mostly covering his expertise in the latest tech, mobiles, apps, gadgets, and step-by-step guides. His ideology is to help people understand the latest trends and explain complex methods through very easy-to-understand guides.
