India has been named the host of the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, ICC announced on Wednesday.
The Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the Vadodara International Cricket Stadium will host the T20 tournament, from February 14 to 28.
Missing from the host roster is the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, a popular women’s cricket venue in the country, and even one that the players of the national side have deemed the spiritual home of the women’s game in India.
The D.Y. Patil, a privately-owned venue within the D.Y. Patil University campus, was also the venue of India’s famous triumph in the Women’s ODI World Cup in 2025, where India beat South Africa in a high-octane and well-attended final. It is also a popular host in the Women’s Premier League, India’s top flight women’s franchise tournament.
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D.Y. Patil earns NGT ire
During the conduct of the Indian Premier League’s 2026 edition, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to six mainstream cricket stadiums and their respective associations raising concerns about sustainable use of water to maintain grounds and facilities.
The NGT bench comprised of chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad who passed the order on April 16, directing cricket associations to regular groundwater extraction and put in place rainwater harvesting for maintaining pitches. Even installations of sewage treatment plants were taken into consideration at venues where rainwater harvesting might not entirely be feasible for operations as a primary way.
The six stadiums in the firing line were Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, Dr. DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
“In such a background, the submission of counsel for the applicant is that all the activities in these six stadiums should be completely stopped and they should not be allowed to carry out any sports activity therein,” the NGT noted in its order.
The tribunal had also questioned why sporting activities shouldn’t be stopped for failing to furnish disclosures to the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
It is unclear if this is why the venue has dropped off the radar for the prestigious Champions Trophy, but the stadium faces the question of receiving clearance for further sporting activity to happen at the premises.
Neither the ICC nor the BCCI has addressed reporters explaining the choice of venues or why D.Y. Patil Stadium has failed to make the cut.
The BCCI’s rotation policy for venues, which seeks to give more venues a chance to host marquee games, might have worked in favour of the Brabourne Stadium in Churchgate. This is also frequently used to stage WPL games across its four editions. CCI president Madhumati Lele Shrivastava was a member or the WPL Governing Council as well.
The Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, inaugurated in December 2024, has also found favour as a venue for women’s cricket fixtures in India from bilaterals to the WPL. Indian Olympic Association CEO Raghuram Iyer had even hinted at the city, 100km away from 2030 Commonwealth Games host city Ahmedabad, being considered to stage the cricket events of that edition.
Published on Sep 02, 2026