Venue revealed for India-Pakistan clash in 2025 Women’s World Cup

The high-profile India-Pakistan match in the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will be held at a neutral venue due to political tensions, the ICC confirmed on Sunday.

The tournament is set to begin on September 30, with host nation India facing Sri Lanka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. While India is hosting the event, Pakistan will play all their matches at a neutral venue.

Among those, the much-awaited India-Pakistan fixture is scheduled for October 5. The match will begin at 3 PM IST and is expected to draw major global attention.

India boasts a dominant record over Pakistan in women’s One-Day Internationals (ODIs), winning all 11 previous encounters. The last time these two teams met at a World Cup was in 2022 in New Zealand, where India claimed a commanding 107-run victory.

The tournament will also see the Australian women’s team open their campaign against New Zealand on October 1.

Pakistan’s group-stage fixtures include:

• vs Bangladesh – October 2
• vs Australia – October 8
• vs England – October 15
• vs New Zealand – October 18
• vs South Africa – October 21
• vs Sri Lanka – October 24

The round-robin stage will end on October 26, after which the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals. The first semi will take place in either Guwahati or the neutral venue, while the second will be held in Bengaluru on October 29 and 30.

The final is scheduled for November 2, with either Bengaluru or the neutral venue hosting the title clash.

The decision to shift Pakistan’s matches is seen as a precautionary move to ensure smooth conduct of the tournament amid sensitive cross-border relations.