The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to shift the Women’s T20 World Cup to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the unrest prevailing in Bangladesh. The World Cup will be held in Dubai and Sharjah from 3 to 20 October. The hosting rights will remain with Bangladesh, which will ensure that it can get its share of the revenue.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement, ‘It is a shame that Bangladesh is not hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup, because we know that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) could have organized a memorable event.
I would like to thank the BCB team for exploring all avenues to host this event in Bangladesh, but due to travel advisories from the governments of several participating teams this was not possible, although they will retain the hosting rights. We look forward to hosting an ICC global event in Bangladesh in the near future.’
The UAE, the headquarters of the ICC, has become an important hub for cricket in recent years, hosting several qualifier tournaments as well as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 with Oman.
More than 230 people have been killed in incidents of violence that erupted across the country after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. An interim government has been formed in the country and 84-year-old Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus has been named its chief advisor. Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hasan Papon, considered close to the former Prime Minister, has also fled the country. The ICC’s decision comes after Australia’s T20 captain Alyssa Healy expressed apprehensions about playing there on Monday.
According to ‘AAP’, Alyssa told Cricket Australia, ‘I find it difficult to think about playing there at this time, as a human being I think it would be wrong to do so.’ He said, ‘It would be taking away resources from a country that is struggling a lot. They need all the people who can reach there to help the people who are dying.’