India’s Champions Trophy Story: From 2006 To A Women’s First In 2027

India will host the ICC Women's Champions Trophy for the first time in 2027 after the ICC confirmed on Wednesday that the inaugural six-team tournament has been moved from Sri Lanka to India.

The tournament will be played from February 14 to 28 across Mumbai and Vadodara, with Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka set to compete in the landmark event.

The announcement also raises an interesting question: how many times has India hosted the Champions Trophy?

The answer depends on whether the men's and women's competitions are considered separately.

India has hosted the Champions Trophy once before

India has previously hosted the ICC Champions Trophy on just one occasion, with the men's tournament taking place in 2006.

The 2006 edition was played across four venues - Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mohali and Mumbai - between October 7 and November 5. The final was held at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai, where Australia defeated the West Indies. ([icc][1])

It was the first Champions Trophy staged in India and remains the only completed edition of the tournament hosted by the country.

The 2006 tournament was also notable because Australia began what became a period of dominance in the competition. They beat the West Indies in the final and subsequently won the 2009 edition in South Africa, becoming the first team to win the Champions Trophy in successive editions. ([icc][2])

2027 will be India's second Champions Trophy as host

The 2027 Women's Champions Trophy will therefore be the second time India hosts a Champions Trophy event.

However, it will be the first time the country stages the women's edition - and, more importantly, the first-ever Women's Champions Trophy.

The inaugural six-team tournament will use a round-robin format, with each team playing the other five sides. The top two teams will then advance to the February 28 final.

Mumbai's CCI and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium will host the tournament.

The competition was originally scheduled for Sri Lanka but was relocated after the ICC assessed Bangladesh, India and South Africa as potential replacement hosts. India was ultimately recommended, and the decision was ratified by the ICC Board on September 2.

India was originally set for the men's Champions Trophy in 2029

The latest announcement also comes as India remains scheduled to host the men's Champions Trophy in 2029.

The ICC's confirmed 2024-2031 men's tournament cycle awarded India hosting rights for the 2029 Champions Trophy.

That means India is now set to host Champions Trophy tournaments twice in a relatively short period, the Women's Champions Trophy in 2027 and the Men's Champions Trophy in 2029.

If both events go ahead as currently scheduled, India will have hosted a Champions Trophy three times by the end of 2029 when counting the 2006 men's tournament and the two upcoming editions.

What makes 2027 different?

The 2027 tournament is significant beyond India's return as a Champions Trophy host because it represents a new competition for women's cricket.

Unlike the men's Champions Trophy, which has been contested since 1998 under its original ICC KnockOut name, the Women's Champions Trophy is being introduced as a new six-team T20I competition.

The inaugural field reflects the tournament's ranking-based qualification system, with Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka earning their places based on the ICC Women's T20I rankings at the July 6 qualification cut-off.

For India, it also represents another major ICC women's event on home soil after the country hosted the Women's Cricket World Cup in 2025.

India's Champions Trophy hosting timeline

• 2006 - Men's Champions Trophy: India hosted the tournament across Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mohali and Mumbai, with the final at CCI.
• 2027 - Women's Champions Trophy: India will host the inaugural edition in Mumbai and Vadodara.
• 2029 - Men's Champions Trophy: India is scheduled to host the men's tournament.

So, as of the ICC's September 2 announcement, India has hosted the Champions Trophy once in the past, will host it for a second time in 2027, and is scheduled to host it for a third time in 2029.

The key distinction is that 2027 will not be a repeat of an existing women's tournament. It will mark the beginning of a new chapter for the Women's Champions Trophy - and India will have the distinction of being its inaugural host.