India on Wednesday sealed their qualification for the 2021 Women’s World Cup following the cancellation of their ODI Championship round against Pakistan with the BCCI not getting government clearance to play the arch-rivals.
The India-Pakistan round was scheduled to take place between July and November last year but was always subject to government clearance. Both teams will share points for the cancelled three-match series.
“With respect to the India v Pakistan series, the TC concluded that the series could not be played because of a Force Majeure event after the BCCI demonstrated that it was unable to obtain the necessary government clearances to allow India to participate in the bilateral series against Pakistan, which forms a part of the ICC Women’s Championship,” said the ICC in a statement.
“The India-Pakistan series was originally scheduled in the sixth round of the competition, between July and November 2019, but despite the best efforts of both the boards, it was unable to take place,” it said.
The development also means that India, who finished runners-up in the 2017 edition, have secured their berth for the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.
All eight teams in the 2017-2020 edition of the ICC Women’s Championship play each other in a three-match series. Hosts New Zealand and the next four highest-placed teams on the points table qualify directly for one-day international cricket’s showpiece.
“Australia (37 points), England (29), South Africa (25) and now India (23) have qualified by virtue of being the top four,” the statement added.
The 10 teams vying for the three remaining places in the showpiece event will be the hosts, Sri Lanka, along with Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, and the winners of the five regional qualifiers.