Guwahati to host semis if Pak not qualified

Online Staff | GUWAHATI, June 2: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the schedule and venues for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, including details for the group stage and knockout matches. Guwahati has been selected to host several group matches and is also set to host one of the semi-finals on October 29—unless Pakistan qualifies for that stage of the tournament.
The 2025 Women’s World Cup will feature eight teams competing in a round-robin format, with a total of 28 league matches. The tournament will take place from September 30 to November 2 across five venues: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru), ACA Stadium (Guwahati), Holkar Stadium (Indore), ACA-VDCA Stadium (Visakhapatnam), and R. Premadasa Stadium (Colombo, Sri Lanka).
India will open the tournament in Bengaluru, marking the return of the Women’s Cricket World Cup to Indian soil after 12 years. The last major ICC women’s event hosted by India was the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016, held concurrently with the men’s tournament.
The knockout stage venues are subject to change based on Pakistan’s progression in the tournament. The final is scheduled for November 2 and will be held either in Bengaluru or Colombo. Similarly, the first semi-final, currently assigned to Guwahati on October 29, will shift to Colombo if Pakistan reaches that stage. The second semi-final will be played in Bengaluru on October 30.
The eight teams that will feature in the Women's World Cup are India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Australia will enter the event as the reigning champions having defeated England in the final of the most recent Women's World Cup in New Zealand in 2022. They are also the most successful team in tournament history having been crowned champions on seven occasions.