ICC Takes BIG Step Towards Women's Cricket Amid ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026

Women's cricket seems to be a very easy side of the game when compared to men's cricket, but women cricketers have to go through a lot of things and still play cricket for their respective countries. Women cricketers have to go through menstruation while playing, and it gets complex when they have to play post pregnancy. Women’s cricket maternity rules were lacking several things, and many personalities came up to say for it.

However, as the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 is underway, and amid the biggest tournament in women's cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the latest ICC post pregnancy guidelines, which include the return to play post pregnancy guidelines. Let's delve deeper into these guidelines and what the new women’s cricket maternity rules are, which will allow each player to become one of the best women's cricketer.

What Are Return To Play Post Pregnancy Guidelines?

The ICC has announced the Return To Play Post Pregnancy Guidelines for female cricketers, offering a structured and practical framework to help players, Member Boards, medical staff, and coaches support a smooth return to cricket after pregnancy. Here are the key takeaways from the ICC post pregnancy guidelines:

• The respective cricket board is recommended to appoint a dedicated case manager to each player without fail.
• The board will be responsible for ensuring key access to medical and well-being services through the pregnancy and postpartum period of the players.
• There will six stage model known as 6 Rs, which includes Ready, Review, Restore, Recondition, Return, and Refine. This is a major part of the Return To Play Post Pregnancy Guidelines.
• The case manager of the player, who could be either a doctor or a physiotherapist, should be the player's primary POC through the pregnancy period as well as the return-to-play journey.
• A proper support team will be present, including a cricket doctor, physio, S&C, psychologist, and Dietician.

How Players' Reacted to New Women’s Cricket Maternity Rules?

Many women cricketers have suffered a phase where they are back on the field after giving birth to their child, like Bismah Maroof, who came back on the field after 6 months of giving birth to her child and was playing the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2022. Similarly, a West Indies women's player, Afy Fletcher, has joined his team for the ICC World Cup 2026 after giving birth to her son in 2021. She believed that these guidelines would make a huge impact on women's cricket. She said,