Women's T20 World Cup 2026 to have record money pot: Check comparison with men's event and timeline of increase

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced a significant increase in prize money for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup 2026. The tournament will be bigger than ever in scale and will therefore feature a prize pool larger than ever before. The announcement was made as the trophy tour got underway.

The 2026 Women's T20 World Cup will be staged across seven venues in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, 2026, with 12 teams participating for the first time.

The total prize pool for the 2026 tournament is $8,764,615 (₹81,51,09,195). This is a 10% rise from the prize pool in the 2024 edition, which New Zealand won. The increase comes mainly from the expansion to 12 teams, which has pushed the number of group games from 20 in 2024 to 30 this year.

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According to the ICC, the winners are set to take home $2,340,000 (₹21,76,20,000), while the runners-up will receive $1,170,000 (₹10,88,10,000). Both losing semi-finalists will earn $675,000 (₹6,27,75,000) each, and every group-stage win will fetch teams $31,154 (₹28,97,322). All 12 participating teams are guaranteed a minimum prize of $247,500 (₹2,30,17,500).

Women's vs Men's T20 World Cup prize pool comparison

The men's T20 World Cup 2026, where India emerged as winners, had a total players' prize money pool of $11.25 million (₹1,04,62,50,000). This is considerably higher than the women's T20 World Cup, with almost $2.5 million (₹2,32,50,000) separating the two prize pools.The winners, India, earned $2,639,423 (₹24,60,35,134) after their triumph in Ahmedabad, while the champions of the upcoming women's edition will take home $2,340,000 (₹21,76,20,000).

The men's T20 World Cup is a far bigger tournament in scale, with 20 teams participating for the second successive edition. A total of 55 matches were held across India and Sri Lanka in the men's event, while only 33 games are scheduled for the women's tournament.

The lowest-ranked sides at the men's tournament claimed $225,000 (₹2,09,25,000), while the equivalent amount for the women's event is $247,500 (₹2,30,17,500), which is slightly higher. However, only 12 teams participate in the women's event compared to 20 in the men's.

The rise of women's cricket

The women's game has seen a rapid rise in the last few years. The winning team in the first-ever edition of the Women's T20 World Cup in 2009 took home around $60,000. In 17 years, that amount has increased by close to 40 times. The difference between the men's winner and women's winner in 2009 was around four times. Today, that difference is marginal.

The 2024 edition saw the pool rise to $7,958,077 from about $2.45 million in 2023 — a 224 percent increase. The latest 10% rise continues this trend and further bridges the gap between the men's and women's events.