The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is a biennial tournament that determines the world champion in the T20 format in women’s cricket. The event was first held in 2009 and since then seven editions of the tournament have been held. The 2023 T20 World Cup is the eighth edition of the event. However, the format of the tournament has changed over the years.
2009-2014
During this period, the top six ranked teams in the ICC T20 rankings and two other spots determined by a qualifying event filled the final eight teams that would play the main event.
2014 onwards
The teams were now decided based on the top right teams of the ICC rankings. The host nation would automatically qualify and three qualifying teams were decided based on the qualifying tournament. For example, in 2023, South Africa qualified as the host event. The next seven teams were the highest ranked teams based on the official ICC rankings. Finally, two teams, Bangladesh and Ireland qualified based on their performance in the World Cup qualifier.
Group stage
The final ten teams were divided into two groups of five teams each. This was decided based on a draw system. In each group, teams would play each other once in a round-robin format. At the end of the league stage, the top two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals.
Knockout stage
The topper in Group A faces the second best team in Group B and the topper in Group B faces the second best team of Group A. The winners in both these matches contest for the final.
