The International Cricket Council has decided to postpone the Women’s T20 World Cup to be held in November 2022 in South Africa, by three months. The tournament will now be conducted in the month of February in 2023. The decision was taken due to a slew of big-ticket events in 2022 and to manage the workload of the players.

“The Board confirmed that the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will move from its current slot at the end of 2022 to 9-26 February 2023,” ICC said in a statement.

If not postponed, the year would have “three major events in 2022 with the Commonwealth Games in July 2022 and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup due to be held in November 2022.”

Earlier in August, the ICC had also postponed the New Zealand edition of the 50 over Women’s World Cup from 2021 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the World Cup, the women’s game will also see the top teams represent cricket in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

“As there are currently no major women’s events scheduled to take place in 2023 the Board confirmed the switch for the T20 World Cup to better support player preparation and to continue to build the momentum around the women’s game beyond 2022,” the apex cricket body added.

“Firstly, it will provide a better workload balance for players giving them the best possible opportunity to perform to the highest levels on a global stage.

“Secondly, we can continue to build the momentum around the women’s game through 2022 and into 2023. We are committed to fuelling the growth of the women’s game and today’s decision enables us to do that over the longer term,” ICC CEO Manu Sawhney said in the statement.