In a devastating turn of events for Bangladesh, it is decided that the ICC has decided to shift the venue of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 from Bangladesh to UAE in light of mounting safety concerns against the backdrop of continuing political instability in Bangladesh. The decision was forced upon them because of the adverse travel advisories issued by various participating nations—such as Australia, India, New Zealand, and the UK—against visiting Bangladesh, due to widespread anti-government protests.
These protests finally ended with the resignation of the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and the formation of an interim government. Initially, this tournament was slotted to be held in Bangladesh by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
Despite the best efforts of the BCB to hold onto the hosting rights, which included appeals for United Nations assistance, the ICC has decided the move was necessary to ensure that players and officials are safe. ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice expressed disappointment at having to move the event but said it was more important to put security first.
“It is a shame not to be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have staged a memorable event,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement. “I would like to thank the team at the BCB for exploring all avenues to try and enable the event to be hosted in Bangladesh, but travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that wasn’t feasible.
“However, they will retain hosting rights. We look forward to taking an ICC global event to Bangladesh in the near future.”
The new venue chosen is the UAE, which hosted the men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. Starting from October 3 and going on until October 20, there will be a ten-team tournament. In addition to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, who too offered their bid, the Emirates Cricket Board was chosen because of its experience in hosting big events. Allardice also thanked the UAE for stepping in to host the prestigious event in place of Bangladesh.
“I’d also like to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host on behalf of the BCB and Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for their generous offers of support, and we look forward to seeing ICC global events in both of those countries in 2026,” Allardice said.
Though the country will not be hosting the 2024 event, ICC gave an assurance that the country retains future hosting rights for an ICC event, especially a major tournament, that is due to be taken to Bangladesh in the near future. It shall be noted that the BCCI turned down the offer of hosting the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, while ICC Chairperson Greg Barclay is set to step down in November 2024 and the nomination process for his successor is due by August 27.
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