Urooj Niazi 
pakistan women to stay in colombo for 2025 wc
Pakistan Women to Play Entire 2025 World Cup in Colombo
The International Cricket Council has officially announced that the Pakistan women’s cricket team will be playing all games at the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, which is hosted by India, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This news has everything to do with ongoing, if not frozen, political tensions between India and Pakistan. India is hosting the Women’s World Cup next year, and Pakistan will not travel there because of this geopolitical reason. All Group Stage games and any potential knockout matches will be at the neutral venue of Colombo.
Why Colombo?
According to the ICC, the decision in making arrangements in Sri Lanka was to ensure safety, ease of scheduling, and avoid any potential diplomatic incident. The arrangements were made after consultations with the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The ICC believes it will not cause an unfair advantage to other teams and believes the match will still have the spirit of cricket. Something similar happened in the 2023 Asia Cup when the matches were hosted in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
An Easy Answer to a Difficult Situation
This is not the first time international cricket has been impacted by politics. The ICC has selected a neutral venue, Colombo, so as not to inflame any tensions whilst ensuring every team has a chance to compete for the title. The complete schedule, with precise match dates and times for each team, will be announced over the coming months.
