Sri Lanka interim board insists on hosting inaugural Women's Champions Trophy in February 2027

Sri Lanka Cricket's interim administration refuses to back out and says it intends to keep the hosting rights for the inaugural six-team Women's Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka in February 2027. The interim body has pledged to carry out fundamental reforms to support that bid.

Political concerns about government involvement in Sri Lanka Cricket have prompted the International Cricket Council to consider alternative venues, and that possibility has already been discussed with the ICC. Interim Committee chairman Eran Wickremaratna, who was appointed by Sri Lanka's sports minister, said the governing body intends to overhaul SLC's administration "at its most basic level." "We are very committed to really correcting from the very foundation. We are not backing out," said Wickremaratna, as quoted by PTI.

Interim Committee member Prakash Schaffter told reporters on Monday that the ICC had, "around two-and-a-half months ago," indicated it was exploring options outside Sri Lanka to host the tournament. "Although they have not categorically told us their decision due to governance issues with SLC, we are hoping we will be able to demonstrate to them the steps we have taken so that they may even be persuaded to play it here," Schaffter said.

Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who serves on the interim committee, emphasised the need to keep a strong working relationship with the ICC while addressing governance concerns. "We are passing the phase of formulating a new constitution and then have an elected body," Sangakkara said.

The current interim setup assumed charge in April after the previous Sri Lanka Cricket leadership was instructed to step down following allegations of mismanagement and corruption. The sports minister subsequently established the Transformation Committee to overhaul the board's constitution and introduce changes to its governance framework.

Those proposed reforms face the ICC's longstanding stance that governments should not interfere in the administration of member boards, and interim officials say they are working to show that the planned changes can meet both domestic reform requirements and the ICC's governance expectations.

Interim officials are seeking to demonstrate the steps they have taken to the ICC so the council may be persuaded to allow the Women's Champions Trophy to be played in Sri Lanka in February 2027.