New Delhi [India], November 4 (ANI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the 2025-2029 Future Tours Programme (FTP), which will set the fixtures for the fourth edition of the ICC Women’s Championship. This cycle, aimed at shaping the lineup for the 2029 Women’s Cricket World Cup, will feature an expanded lineup of 11 teams, marking the inclusion of Zimbabwe for the first time.
In this cycle, each team will compete against eight other teams in a format that includes four home and four away series, similar to the current edition. A total of 132 One Day Internationals (ODIs) will be played across 44 series, with each series consisting of three matches.
Zimbabwe, making their debut in the Women’s Championship, will host South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Ireland, while they will travel to India, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
The new FTP promises an increase in international women’s cricket across all formats, with over 400 matches ensuring more competitive opportunities for players to excel on the international stage.
Each year of the upcoming FTP cycle will feature an ICC Women’s tournament, starting with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025, followed by the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026, the inaugural ICC Women’s Champions Trophy in 2027, and another ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, a release said.
In preparation for these ICC events, member countries have mutually scheduled several tri-series tournaments. England will host India and New Zealand in a T20I series before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026, while Ireland will host Pakistan and the West Indies. Additionally, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will each host tri-series in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
The FTP also includes more Test matches, with Australia, England, India, South Africa, and the West Indies committing to multi-format series that incorporate ODIs and T20Is. Australia has the most planned series, facing England, India, and South Africa twice each and the West Indies once.
This expanded schedule not only aims to elevate the standard of women’s cricket but also to ensure broader global representation and more thrilling contests. (ANI)
