Record Attendance Marks Opening of ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 Kicks Off with Historic Attendance

London [UK], June 17: The Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Jay Shah, celebrated the commencement of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, noting unprecedented attendance and viewership records.

In a message shared on X, Shah revealed that approximately 45,000 spectators attended the matches during the opening weekend, marking it as the largest turnout for an ICC women's event to date. He highlighted that the match between India and Pakistan on Sunday garnered over 25 million unique viewers on JioHotstar in India, while Sky Sports achieved its highest viewership ever for a Women’s T20 World Cup match in the UK.

“It’s an incredible start to the @ICC #WT20WorldCup 2026. The opening weekend (Friday to Sunday) saw nearly 45,000 fans across #Birmingham, #Manchester, and #Southampton. This is the largest opening weekend for any ICC women's event. The live digital viewership in India for #IndvPak on @JioHotstar surpassed 25 million unique users—more than the total viewership for the last WT20WC,” he stated.

“Peak viewership in the UK on #SkySports was the highest for any WT20WC match. The women’s cricket movement is rewriting history from its very first weekend,” he added in his post on X.

The tournament has already seen eight matches, with a few surprising outcomes, including two defeats for the defending champions, New Zealand. The White Ferns lost to West Indies by seven wickets and then fell to Sri Lanka by five wickets.

India has played one match so far, triumphing over their rivals Pakistan by 64 runs. Currently, the Indian women's team sits second in Group A, trailing only Australia.