The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru — electrifying during WPL seasons, a proven crowd magnet in past international fixtures — now finds itself unceremoniously sidelined for the ODI World Cup starting this September. The reason? Police refused permissions following the June 4 stampede tragedy. The outcome feels like bureaucracy muscling in at the expense of the sport — and the fans.
In its place, the leading contender to host those much-needed fixtures is… the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. A venue with no women’s cricket history, no proven draw, and zero legacy. If the mission was to find a worthy replacement for Bengaluru, the choices were plentiful and proven. Instead, the BCCI seems to have gone bargain-hunting in the bargain bin.
In a telling reflection of public sentiment, Female Cricket ran a poll across their social media handles asking fans which stadiums they wanted to see host the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. The verdict? Overwhelming support for the country’s biggest and most iconic arenas — Wankhede, Eden Gardens, Arun Jaitley, Chinnaswamy, DY Patil — the very venues now conspicuously absent from the BCCI’s final list.
DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
A modern marvel that has proven, time and again, it can bring the thunder. Women’s Tests, multiple India vs Australia T20Is, and countless Women’s Premier League (WPL) matches — each filling its stands and echoing with energy. This is a ready-made crowd-puller. Yet, instead of anchoring a World Cup here, the BCCI turns its back on a venue that has delivered without fail.
BCA Stadium, Vadodara
The new kid on the block, already punching above its weight. In 2024, it stormed into international women’s cricket by hosting three ODIs against West Indies to a strong audience response. Then, in WPL 2025, it opened with six matches that drew healthy crowds — even in the early stages of the tournament. The BCCI overlooks this rising star in favour of venues with no track record.
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
The jewel in India’s cricketing crown. Wankhede has hosted women’s Tests since 1984, the most recent in December 2023, alongside ODIs and T20Is — including a blockbuster India vs Australia ODI in January 2024. It has prestige, history, and worldwide TV appeal. Not using it during a home World Cup is a glaring omission.
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Historic. Central. Electric. Women’s cricket here dates back to 1976, with the stadium hosting the 2016 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. More recently, it co-hosted WPL 2024, culminating in a roaring final that proved its crowd-pulling power. Choosing it would scream ambition; ignoring it whispers a lack of vision.
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
India’s oldest cricketing cathedral. It staged the 1997 Women’s World Cup final and the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup final — moments etched deep into the nation’s cricketing memory. Eden Gardens is more than a stadium; it’s a beating heart. Passing it over for a global tournament is not just neglect — it’s cultural amnesia.
Ekana Stadium, Lucknow
A modern wildcard that’s proven its mettle quickly. Women’s internationals debuted here in 2021, and the stadium added more credibility during the Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup. Its infrastructure and hunger for hosting big matches make it an obvious candidate. If ever there was a time to diversify the map of women’s cricket, this was it.
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Steeped in women’s cricket history since 2003. ODIs, T20Is, and multiple WPL matches — including a packed final in 2023 — have graced its turf. Brabourne carries an aura that reminds fans exactly why they fell in love with the sport. To leave it out now is to snub history itself.
The Others Who Could Have Been
Even Rajkot and Ahmedabad deserve a seat at the table. Rajkot hosted India vs Ireland ODIs in early 2025; Ahmedabad staged New Zealand ODIs in late 2024. Yet both are treated as if their contributions don’t count — as if success only matters when it happens in a metro with a bigger PR budget.
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is ruled out due to renovations. Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium — famous but never used for women’s cricket — should also have been a non-starter. And yet, here we are, staring at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram as the front-runner to pick up Chinnaswamy’s matches.
Yes, it’s slated for warm-ups. But handing World Cup matches to a venue with zero women’s cricket experience is like giving the lead role to an understudy who’s never rehearsed. It’s perplexing, it’s insulting, and it’s disappointing.
No Wankhede. No Eden Gardens. No Arun Jaitley. Just Guwahati, Visakhapatnam, Indore, and Thiruvananthapuram. Of those, only Visakhapatnam has hosted women’s internationals in the last decade. This feels less like smart planning and more like rotation for rotation’s sake — sacrificing visibility, marketability, and the magic of big-stage cricket.
India has hosted the Women’s ODI World Cup thrice — in 1978, 1997, and 2013 — each time with a broader, bolder venue list. The 1997 edition saw 25 grounds buzzing with festival energy, from Eden Gardens to Wankhede to Chinnaswamy. Even in 2013, the final was at Brabourne. And now? Despite the WPL proving women’s cricket can pack stadiums in Mumbai, Delhi, and Lucknow, we get a stripped-down, mid-tier four-venue affair.
Historic ICC women’s finals have graced Lord’s, the MCG, Hagley Oval, Newlands, and Dubai. India’s 2025 edition? It will skip its most iconic stages entirely. Women’s cricket here has earned the right to play in the country’s most revered arenas — not in a rotation of safe, forgettable venues with no connection to the women’s game.
The BCCI can throw around words like “logistics” and “regional balance” all it wants. But the optics? They scream apathy. Bengaluru’s loss should have been a moment to elevate and amplify the women’s game. Instead, it’s turned into a masterclass in shortsightedness.
The players will fight. The fans will turn up. But when history looks back, it may not remember the brilliance on the field. It may remember how leadership failed to give the women’s game the stage it deserved.
A budding writer, who is trying her level best to do her bit for Women’s cricket.