Sri Lanka has lost the hosting rights for the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy due to government interference in its cricket board, Cricinfo reported on Sunday (August 30).

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has stepped in because it does not recognise politically appointed administrations like the current "Transformation Committee" managing the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

The six-team event remains scheduled for its original window from February 14 to 28 next year. While India is currently the frontrunner to stage the tournament, the new hosts will be formally locked in at the next ICC board meeting in October.

This move severely impacts the Sri Lankan women's national cricket team, who originally qualified automatically as the host nation. Because they are ranked outside the top five global spots, they risk missing out on the tournament entirely if a higher-ranked nation takes over.

If Sri Lanka (currently ranked seventh) is excluded due to the venue shift, the West Indies (currently sitting in sixth place) are likely to sneak into the tournament.

This marks the second time in three years that Sri Lanka has been stripped of a global tournament due to political interference; the 2024 Men’s Under-19 World Cup was similarly taken away from them and moved to South Africa.

(With Cricinfo Inputs)