Pakistan would face archrival India on October 6 in the Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh later this year, according to the schedule announced by the International Cricket Council on Sunday.

“Over the last six to seven years we have seen women’s cricket grow exponentially,” ICC chief executive officer Geoff Allardice said at the announcement of the fixture list and trophy unveiling in Dhaka. “This is going to be a very special tournament.”

The event will run from October 3 to 20 in the capital Dhaka and the northeastern city of Sylhet, with warm-up matches starting on September 27.

It will be the ninth edition of the tournament, with Bangladesh previously hosting in 2014.

England will face South Africa in the opening match of the event.

Hosts Bangladesh and the top six teams from the previous edition in South Africa – Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies – qualified automatically for the tournament, with Pakistan joining them as the next best ranked team.

Ireland, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Scotland are in contention for the remaining two places, with the semi-finals of the qualifying tournament being held in the UAE.

Six-times winners and current world number one Australia will play in Group A alongside India, New Zealand, Pakistan and a Qualifier 1.

Defending champions and the most successful team in the event’s history Australia will start their campaign on 4 October in Sylhet against Qualifier 1.

The top two teams from Group A and Group B will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled for 17 October in Sylhet, and October 18 in Dhaka.

The T20 World Cup champions will be crowned at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on October 20.

“We take great pride in revealing the fixture schedule for the ninth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Bringing an ICC World Cup back to Bangladesh is truly exciting, especially given the country’s immense fan base eagerly awaiting this prestigious event,” said Bangladesh Cricket Board CEO Nizamuddin Chaudhary.

“We are enthusiastic about the positive impact the Women’s T20 World Cup will have on the cricket landscape.”

India Captain Harmanpreet Kaur was “thrilled” at the prospect of competing in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.

“The growth of women’s cricket over the past few years and especially Women’s World Cups have been incredible. I am sure this event will be no different with competitive and high energy cricket to entertain the world.”

More to follow…