(Credit ICC)
Despite the ongoing political turmoil in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) remains hopeful of hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the country.
Amidst violent protests and a state of emergency declared by the newly appointed interim government, the BCB is working urgently to ensure the event’s future.
In the midst of political unrest in Bangladesh, the BCB has requested security assurances to proceed with hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
On Thursday, August 8, the BCB made a decisive move by contacting General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Army, to urgently seek security assurances for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to begin on September 27 with the warm-up matches.
The urgency is heightened by the recent establishment of an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who has taken over following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This interim administration is expected to manage the country until new elections are held.
The current political turmoil has led many BCB members, including President Nazmul Hassan, to leave the country due to their affiliations with Hasina’s Awami League party, complicating efforts to host the event smoothly.
Despite the ongoing upheaval and the departure of several key BCB figures, some board directors remain in Dhaka and continue to be optimistic about the possibility of successfully hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 later this year.
We are trying to host the tournament: BCB
According to Cricbuzz, Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu, the chairman of the BCB’s umpire committee, was quoted as saying: “We are trying to host the tournament. To be honest, there are not too many of us present in the country, and on August 8, we sent a letter to the Army Chief regarding assurance about the security of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, as we have only two months in hand. ICC communicated with us two days ago, and we replied that we would come back to them shortly.
Despite the interim government being formed, we still have to give them assurance of the security, considering it cannot be given by the board or anyone else apart from a law enforcement agency of the country, and so we sent the letter today. After getting written assurance from the Army, we will inform the ICC.”
The ICC will decide the venues for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 by August 10.
The ICC is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and is considering alternative host countries in the same time zone if security cannot be assured. India, UAE, and Sri Lanka are being evaluated as potential substitutes for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Scheduled from October 3 to 20, the tournament will see ten teams competing in 23 matches over 18 days. The games are currently planned to be held at two venues in Bangladesh: the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.
The ICC is expected to make a decision on whether to proceed with these venues by August 10, based on the security situation in Bangladesh. The participating teams are Bangladesh, Australia, England, India, South Africa, the West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Scotland.
