Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: India Could Host ICC Tournament After Turmoil In Bangladesh, Says Report

The political upheaval in Bangladesh recently with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country has put a huge question mark over the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 which is set to take place in Bangladesh in a couple of months time in October. The International Cricket Council (ICC) are keeping a close eye on the developments in Bangladesh before taking a final call on whether to shift the tournament out.

The ICC are set to come up with a decision over the hosts of the Women’s T20 World Cup witin a week’s time with Bangladesh witnessing riots, arson and violent uprising over the last few weeks. If the decision is taken to move the tournament out of Bangladesh, India have emerged as the likely hosts of the event, according to a report in Cricbuzz website.

“The ICC is closely monitoring developments in coordination with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), their security agencies and our own independent security consultants. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all participants,” a spokesperson for ICC said on Monday was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz website.

The 10 teams are scheduled to play 23 matches, over 18 days, at two venues in Bangladesh – the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet – from October 3 to 20. But in the prevalent political scenario hosting the tournament looks difficult and ICC may opt for a country in the same time zone as Bangladesh. Apart from India, UAE and Sri Lanka also fit the bill for ICC.

“All places with favourable weather will be in the mix if it becomes clear that we can’t play in Bangladesh. That may or may not be the case,” an ICC member was quoted as saying by the website.

The ICC is expected to speak to the Bangladesh Cricket Board officials (BCB) very soon over the feasibility of holding the tournament in Dhaka and Sylhet.

Meanwhile, India.com reported on Monday that the BCB president and Minister of Youth and Sports of Bangladesh, Nazmul Hasan Papon’s house also been lighted by the protesters. With so much going on in the country, neither the BCCI nor the International Cricket Council (ICC) could go ahead the ticketing process or even the media accreditation, which usually starts two months before the start of the event.