India qualify for ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2021 after points split over cancelled Pakistan series

ICC Women’s Championship Technical Committee ruled on Wednesday that the India vs Pakistan series that couldn’t be played will see both teams sharing points. BCCI had 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. [caption id=“attachment_8067561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India women’s cricket team. Image: Twitter/@BCCIWomen[/caption] By virtue of the points gained in the series, India have qualified for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup scheduled to be in played in New Zealand next year. They join Australia, England and South Africa in qualifying for the tournament as part of the top four. New Zealand get in by virtue of being the hosts. 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. Points were also split in two other series: South Africa vs Australia and Sri Lanka vs New Zealand. Both series were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A World Cup qualifier is scheduled to be played from 3-19 July, subject to a review due to the pandemic, in Sri Lanka to see which other teams qualify for the tournament. The 10 teams vying for the three remaining places in the World Cup will be Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, United States of America and Netherlands. The tournament will get going on 6 February with the final on 7 March and will be played across six cities: Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.