ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 prize money breakdown — How much does the winner actually take home?

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced record prize money for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, which is set to be staged in England and Wales, beginning on June 12, with the hosts playing the curtain-raiser against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston in Birmingham. 

The head of the cricket council has declared a record prize money pool of USD 8764615, which is nearly INR 81.8 crore, for the 20-over competition, marking a 10% increase over the 2024 edition of the tournament.

The tournament openers will be joined by Australia, Bangladesh, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, and the West Indies in the 33-game event, which will be played across the seven venues over the 24 days, vying for the top prize and the trophy. 

India, under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, is in the same group with Australia, Bangladesh, arch-rivals Pakistan, South Africa, and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the hosts, who will be under the captaincy of Nat Scriver-Brunt, will be grouped with the Netherlands, Scotland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Ireland in the same pool. 

The first semifinal of the event will be at the Kennington Oval in South London on June 30, before the second semi-final takes place on July 02 at the same venue.

The final game of the tournament will be played on July 05 at the iconic Lord’s, which will also host some terrific games, including the one between India and Australia on June 28

Total prize pool revealed — How much is up for grabs at Women's T20 World Cup 2026?

The prize pool of the previous edition for the Women’s T20 World Cup, which included 10 participants, was USD 7958077 (INR 7.24 crore). The competition has now extended to 12 teams this time.

The winners will take home USD 2340000 (INR 21.8 crore), while the losing side of the final will earn USD 1170000 (INR 10 crore). The losing teams in the semifinals of the event will get USD 675000 (INR 6.29 crore), as each group match win will earn the teams nearly INR 29 lakh.

See Also: Most Runs in Women's T20 World Cup History — All-Time Top 10 Batters Updated 2026

The ICC CEO, Sanjog Gupta, has expressed his happiness at the continued rise of women’s cricket in all phases of the game. It underlined the world cricket governing body’s commitment towards making the sport more global.

“The growth of women’s cricket continues to accelerate, and the expansion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to 12 teams, combined with a record prize pool, underlines our commitment to building a stronger, more competitive global game. The continued rise of women’s cricket through increased investment and opportunity reflects the growing influence and impact of female athletes on the global stage.” Gupta said in the statement.  

“With that same momentum building across every aspect of women’s cricket, this event is shaping up to not only set a host of new attendance and viewing records in the sports and media ecosystems but also leave a lasting impact on the wider socio-cultural landscape across the world.” The ICC CEO addressed.

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup prize money (in Indian Rupees)

From winners to group stage exits — Every team's prize money at Women's T20 World Cup 2026 explained

In the previous edition of the game, the two worst-performing sides, who finished in ninth and tenth position, took home their participation fee of around INR 10.68 crore in addition to the positional money of INR 12.81 crore (equal to this year’s 23.5 crore).

In the 2024 edition, that the New Zealand side won in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) beating South Africa in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, has seen a huge increase in the prize money from the last season in South Africa, with a total prize pool getting to nearly INR 75 crore, which was around INR 25 crore in 2023, a 224% increase.

See Also: India Women's T20 World Cup 2026 schedule — Every match date, venue and time you need to know

The addition to the prize money came after a 2023 decision by the ICC to award equal prize money for their equivalent men’s and women’s events.

The winners of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, India, were awarded a massive prize of INR 23.60 crore, the same amount they won for their triumph in the 2024 season at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

In this season, the minimum prize money for the teams participating in the Women’s T20 World Cup will be INR 2.35 crore, which was around 1.06 crore in 2024. It will go up to INR 2.95 crore for the group-stage win, while the fifth to eighth-placed teams will be awarded INR 6.40 crore.

A massive prize of INR 11.10 crore has been slotted for the runners-up of the competition, along with INR 22.21 crore for the champions. That means in 2026, the total prize money of INR 83.17 crore will be a bigger number than INR 75.58 crore. 

How does the Women's T20 World Cup 2026 prize money compare to previous editions?

The difference between the amount of the Men’s champions and the women’s champions will take home is due to the different number of matches being played by teams during the two competitions. Harmanpreet’s side, who won the ODI World Cup on home soil last year, keep a jackpot of $6.58 million, which is nearly INR 62 crore 47 lakh 74 thousand.

The 10th and ninth place finishers of the Women’s T20 World Cup, who got INR 2.35 crore in the 2024 season, will get the same prize money. It will remain the same for the teams finishing in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth positions of the points table.

The semifinalists will be earning INR 8.75 crore, which was INR 7.48 crore in the previous season of the competition in the UAE. Meanwhile, the runners-up of the side, who got INR 12.18 crore in the last season, will earn INR 13.46 crore in the upcoming edition.

See Also: Most Wickets in Women's T20 World Cup History — All-Time Top Bowlers List Updated 2026

The champions of the event will be getting a huge prize of INR 24.57 crore, which is nearly one crore more than INR 23.29, awarded to the winners of the last season.

The former Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri, reckoned that the high prize money of the Women’s T20 World Cup over the years have reflected on how the game has been going in the right direction, with the growth in the skills and abilities of the players on the field.

Comparison between 2024 and 2026 seasons in Women’s T20 WC-

(Minimum prize money= Base participation prize+ Any positional prizes)

Women's T20 World Cup prize money in the future — Will it ever match the men's tournament?    

The Women’s T20 World Cup prize money does match the men’s tournament as the ICC committed to equal prize money for the men’s and women’s events. The competition champions receive the exact same base payout as the men’s champions, which is a huge feat. The ICC had previously committed to equal prize money before 2030, and said it has reached equality in the area.

“This is a significant moment in the history of our sport. Since 2017, we have increased prize money at women's events every year with a clear focus on reaching equal prize money.” The ICC CEO revealed.  

“Cricket is genuinely a sport for all, and this decision from the ICC board reinforces that and enables us to celebrate and value every single player's contribution to the game equally.” Sanjog Gupta told the BBC.

See Also: ICC Women's T20 World Cup all-time winners list & history — Every champion from 2009 to 2024

The prize money will grow even more as time progresses. The 2028 season of the Women’s T20 World Cup will be hosted by Pakistan, while the Indian games will take place at neutral venues. The money could reach a different position in that case.

Those days are gone when fans used to enjoy only men’s cricket. The women’s games get the same kind of attraction as the men’s in all the big tournaments because of the franchise leagues around the globe, with the incredible ability and skill of the players in the game.

As the commercial viability and scale of the women’s international games continue to get expanded, the total pool will continue to grow. Just like for this season, the ICC has increased the overall women’s prize pot by 10% for the expanded 12-team event; it can get up to 15% for the next season, along with the expansion of the number of teams.