India to open Women's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against Pakistan
Dubai, Jun 18 (PTI): India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 at Edgbaston on June 14.
The ICC and hosts England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday announced the full schedule of the tournament, featuring 12 teams.
The 24-day long tournament will be held from June 12 to July 5 next year and will consist of a total of 33 matches to be played across seven venues in England.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will kickstart their campaigns at Edgbaston, whereas the opening match of the tournament will be between hosts England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston on June 12.
Hampshire Bowl, Headingley, Old Trafford, The Oval, Bristol County Ground and Lord's are the other venues of the competition.
The two semifinals will be played at The Oval on June 30 and July 2, and the final will be at Lord's on July 5.
The 12-team competition will have two groups of six teams each. The Group 1 consists of six-time winners Australia, last edition's runner-up South Africa, India, Pakistan and two qualifying teams.
The Group 2 consists of defending champions New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, hosts England and two qualifying teams.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
After their opening clash against Pakistan, India will move to Headingley for their contest against a qualifying team on June 17, followed by contest against South Africa at the Old Trafford on June 21.
While India will face the second qualifying team of Group 1 on June 25 at Old Trafford, their toughest game will be against Australia on June 28 at the 'Home of Cricket'.
"At iconic venues across the country, we'll see incredible, world-class athletes battling it out in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, who with every ball bowled and run scored, will be contributing to lasting change," said tournament director Beth Barrett-Wild.
📍 England and Wales
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 18, 2025
🗓️ 2026
Here are #TeamIndia's fixtures for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PTtPmpDCZX
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
