
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially announced the relocation of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The tournament, originally slated for October 3 to 20, will now take place in Dubai and Sharjah.
Cricpulse was the first to report that the UAE had emerged as the most likely alternative after India declined to host the event.
Given the current situation in Bangladesh, organizing a global event of this scale was deemed impractical, especially in light of travel advisories issued by several countries against visiting the region.
This sentiment was echoed by the Board members and directors during a virtual ICC meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
While the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has agreed to the relocation, it will continue to hold the official hosting rights.
Even prominent players like Alyssa Healy expressed concerns about the feasibility of hosting the World Cup in Bangladesh under the current circumstances.
“I can’t imagine playing there [in Bangladesh] at this time; it just doesn’t seem right,” Healy commented.
“Diverting resources to a cricket tournament when the country is in such dire need feels wrong.
There are more significant issues at hand than staging a cricket event in Bangladesh right now, but I’ll leave that decision to the ICC,” added the Australia women’s team captain.
The ICC was left with limited options after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently declined to host the championship due to weather concerns and the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup in a year’s time.
Although Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka expressed interest in hosting, the UAE was selected as the ideal choice due to its favorable weather and alignment with Bangladesh’s time zone.
The 10-team, 23-match tournament is expected to follow the model of the 2021 Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, which was also hosted by the BCCI but played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Similarly, the BCB will retain its hosting rights while the matches are held in the desert cities.
Bangladesh has been dealing with internal strife, including student protests and political unrest, with reports of ongoing fatalities despite the recent change in government.
During the ICC board meeting, concerns were raised about the appropriateness of hosting the event in a country currently facing such turmoil.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice stated, “It’s unfortunate that we won’t be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, as we know the BCB would have delivered a memorable event.
I want to thank the BCB team for exploring every possible avenue to keep the event in Bangladesh, but the travel advisories from several participating nations made that impossible.
However, they will retain the hosting rights, and we look forward to bringing an ICC global event to Bangladesh in the near future.”
Allardice added, “I would also like to extend our gratitude to the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host on behalf of the BCB, and to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for their generous offers of support.
We look forward to seeing ICC global events in both of those countries in 2026.”
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