Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: Colombo to host marquee India-Pakistan clash

After a 12-year gap, the Women’s ODI World Cup returns to India, who will host the 2025 edition, with Colombo serving as a neutral venue. India will take on Sri Lanka in Bengaluru for the tournament opener on September 30. 

The tournament will consist of 28 league games, followed by the semifinals and final, spread across five cities. Apart from Bengaluru, the other venues for the tournament will be Guwahati, Indore, Vizag and Colombo.

The tournament will have all eight teams competing in a single group, with each team playing every other team once. The top four teams at the end of the league stage will advance to the semifinals.

The high-stakes clash between India and Pakistan shall be held in Colombo as part of the PCB’s hybrid model agreement with the ICC and BCCI. Should the team advance as far as the semifinals and finals, their fixtures will continue to be held in Colombo, with logistics to be adjusted accordingly. 

It is worth noting that the 2025 Champions Trophy, hosted by Pakistan, saw India play all its games, including the knockout fixtures, in Dubai. Subsequently, the PCB informed the ICC that Pakistan would also not travel to India for any future ICC tournaments hosted in the country, forcing the international organisation to broker a long-term hybrid model arrangement between the two teams. As part of that, Pakistan’s fixtures for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup have been scheduled in Colombo. 

Bengaluru will host the second semifinal (October 30) and potentially the final (November 2) if Pakistan does not qualify for the summit clash. The venue for the first semifinal (October 29) will be a toss-up between Guwahati and Colombo, depending on Pakistan’s progress in the tournament. Defending champions Australia and hosts India, alongside England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, ensured direct qualification by finishing in the top six of the ODI Championship points table. The other two spots were claimed by Pakistan and Bangladesh, who had to navigate the World Cup qualifiers held in Lahore earlier this year. 

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