India and Australia among six teams who directly qualify for the 2022 Commonwealth Games

The Indian cricket team is among six teams that have qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The six teams that have qualified for the mega event are Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and a country from the West Indies. They have secured their spot due to their standings in the MRF Tyres ICC Women's T20I Team Rankings on 1 April 2021. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Commonwealth Games Federation declared on Monday that women's cricket features in the event for the first time in 22 editions. Cricket is going to be played for the second time in history. The first time was a men's ODI tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. At that time, South Africa won the competition. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will witness around 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories. All the athletes will compete across 11 thrilling days. Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be the first multi-sport event to award more medals to women than men.

Incredibly proud and excited to be part of Birmingham 2022: Geoff Allardic

ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardic stated that the board is extremely happy and excited to be part of Birmingham 2022. He added that it is a fantastic opportunity for the women's game to grow globally. The International Cricket Council is likely to maintain the momentum that saw 86,174 fanatics packed into the MCG for the final of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup last year. Geoff Allardic concluded by thanking the Commonwealth Games Federation for their support. He looks forward to seeing some superb cricket at the iconic stadium Edgbaston.

As per the qualification procedure, the winner of a specified Qualifying event will determine which country from the Caribbean region gets to participate. This is because all the athletes will be representing their individual nations and not the West Indies as they would at ICC events. The team participating last will be decided through a qualifying tournament. The qualifying tournament is going to take place on 31 January 2022. All the details regarding the same are going to be announced in due course. The Commonwealth Games cricket competition will take place at the iconic Edgbaston Stadium. The tickets for the mega competition are expected to go on sale later this year.

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