The internal security team of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is keeping an eye on the chaos in Bangladesh, because the Women’s T20 World Cup is to be organized in this country in October. According to the already decided schedule, Bangladesh is to host the Women’s T20 World Cup from October 3 to 20.
Due to the violence spreading in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to resign and flee the country. Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zama on Monday said an interim government will take power in Bangladesh amid massive protests against Hasina’s government in Dhaka. More than 100 people lost their lives in the violence spread in the country in the last two days.
The ICC is currently adopting a wait-and-see policy on this issue. An ICC board member said, ‘The ICC has an independent security monitoring system in all its member countries. The situation is being monitored closely, but there are seven weeks left for the tournament to start. In such a situation, it is too early to comment whether the tournament will be shifted from Bangladesh or not.
The ICC source said that there was a similar situation of unrest in Sri Lanka in March 2022 when protesters stormed the official residence of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, citing corruption and inflation. After this incident, the Australian cricket team traveled there for a bilateral series in June. The World Cup is going to be held in Bangladesh in Dhaka and Sylhet.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strictly advised Indian citizens not to travel to Bangladesh until further notice. BCCI always follows the advice of the government in such situations.
So T20 World Cup can be held in Sri Lanka
The ICC has contingency plans for unavoidable situations and in this case Sri Lanka could be an option. Sri Lanka hosted the 2012 Men’s T20 World Cup there between September and October. It will be interesting to see whether the SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) send their women’s teams to a country where the security situation may be weak.
The ICC has responded to Bangladesh and their right to host the Women’s T20 World Cup in October. ICC spokesperson said- ICC Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is closely monitoring the developments in coordination with their security agencies and our own independent security consultants. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all participants.
Why is there controversy?
Protests are taking place in Bangladesh demanding abolition of the controversial reservation system. Under this, a provision was made to give 30 percent reservation in government jobs to the relatives of the fighters who took part in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.