Women’s T20 World Cup moves from Bangladesh to UAE

The International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday that the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, originally scheduled for October, will be moved out of Bangladesh and held in the United Arab Emirates instead.

The decision to change the venue comes after unrest in Bangladesh led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country earlier this month, ending 15 years of iron-fisted rule.

More than 450 people were killed, mostly by police, in weeks of protests before she stepped down on August 5. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has since taken over as interim leader.

“We know that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) should have hosted a memorable tournament, but it is a real shame that Bangladesh will not be able to host the Women’s T20 World Cup,” International Cricket Council chief executive Jeff Allardice said in a statement.

“I would like to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board team for exploring all avenues to try and get the tournament held in Bangladesh, but travel warnings issued by the governments of several participating teams meant this was not feasible.

“However, they will retain the hosting rights. We look forward to bringing ICC global events to Bangladesh in the near future.”

The tournament, which will involve 10 teams, will be held from October 3 to 20 at two venues in the UAE – Dubai and Sharjah.

Australia has won six of the previous eight editions of the tournament, including the last three.

The Men’s T20 World Cup was forced to move from India to the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the UAE hosted the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup along with Oman.