Women's World Cup 2025: Bengaluru games shifted; Trivandrum likely to host

WOMEN'S ODI WORLD CUP, 2025

Women's World Cup 2025: Bengaluru games shifted; Trivandrum likely to host

by Vijay Tagore • Last updated on

Bengaluru was set to host five games, including the final, besides a majority of warm-up fixtures © AFP

Bengaluru is off Women's World Cup (WWC) radar and there will be a new venue for the ODI World Cup beginning September 30. Apart from Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, Indore (in India) and Colombo, there will be another hosting city and the International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to make the announcement within a day or two. Thiruvananthapuram is considered favourite for the displaced games.

Although a formal announcement is not yet out, the decision is understood to have been made late on Monday night after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) failed to secure permission for the games, despite the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) granting a two-day extension. The original deadline was Saturday (August 9), but the BCCI is believed to have told the beleaguered KSCA that it will wait till Monday (August 11).

Cricbuzz was first to report on the uncertainty on August 7 over Bengaluru matches. With the venue change likely, the ICC may have to revise the schedule - in part or in full.

Chinnaswamy Stadium was initially allotted five games, including the inaugural match involving India on September 30. However, following catastrophic events of June 4 when RCB's victory march turned tragic resulting in death of 11 fans and injuries to scores, things seemingly have become difficult. The State Government has toughened the stance toward cricket games in the city.

Potentially Bengaluru would have also hosted the final too on November 2 since chances of Pakistan qualifying for the title clash are considered bleak. As is the arrangement, all Pakistan games are to be played at a neutral venue and hence Colombo came into the picture. Should Pakistan qualify for the final, Colombo will host the match.

Repeated calls and messages to the KSCA officials remained unanswered but sources within the BCCI have revealed that the Chinnaswamy games are being moved. Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram are being considered as potential alternatives, and Cricbuzz understands chances of Kerala getting the matches are higher. Chennai could have also been a potential alternative but was ruled out as TNCA had informed BCCI that the ground was not available till December owing to renovation works.

Besides the tournament opener, the other league games originally slated for Bengaluru were England-South Africa (on October 3), India-Bangladesh (on October 26), and then the two knockout matches.

© Cricbuzz

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