Bangladesh Cricket Tournament at Risk as Protests Escalate

Doubt has surrounded Bangladesh’s capacity to host the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup from October 3-20 due to the ongoing chaos and subsequent resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who departed the country in an Air Force jet. With the tournament being less than two months away from commencing, speculations have arisen over the event being relocated to an alternate venue if the unrest persists in Bangladesh. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not made any statements on this matter, but have mentioned they are closely observing developments in Bangladesh before determining their next actions.

“The ICC is closely monitoring developments in collaboration with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), their security agencies and our own independent security advisors. Our main concern is the safety and well-being of all participants,” said the ICC spokesperson to IANS.

During last month’s ICC Annual Conference in Colombo, the issue of turmoil in Bangladesh over a government jobs quota system was brought up by a few member nations. However, the matter was not included in the agenda of the four-day conference and therefore, it was not formally discussed.

Ten teams will compete in 23 matches over 18 days of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup at two venues – Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.

There are 10 warm-up matches scheduled from September 27 to October 1, all to be held at BKSP in Dhaka. In May, the ICC revealed the Women’s T20 World Cup schedule in Dhaka, where Hasina was present alongside India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana.

India are placed in Group A along with New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and defending champions Australia, while Group B consists of hosts Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies, and Scotland. Bangladesh is set to host the tournament for the second time after previously doing so in 2014.

The 2023 World Cup runners up South Africa will face England in the opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup. This will be followed by hosts Bangladesh taking on Scotland in the evening match in Dhaka.

Australia, the defending champions and the most successful team in the event’s history, will begin their campaign on October 4 in Sylhet against Sri Lanka. This will be followed by India starting their campaign against New Zealand on the same day.

The top two teams from Group A and Group B will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled for October 17 in Sylhet and October 18 in Dhaka respectively. The champions of the Women’s T20 World Cup will be crowned in Dhaka on October 20.