ICC Women’s T20 World Cup was to be hosted in Bangladesh before the nation found itself grappling with a country-wide political strife, which saw hundreds of civilians being killed. However, weeks of anti-government protest and the eventual dissolution of the Bangladesh Parliament forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to start looking for an alternative venue. For the past couple of weeks, the uncertainty around the tournament’s venue had only been growing. ICC’s decision not to make things official until the last moment only made the situation more interesting.
But that has come to an end now, as the ICC has decided to shift the tournament to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Besides UAE, Sri Lanka, India, and Zimbabwe were the other possible venues for the tourney. However, the ICC has made its verdict in the favor of the Arab country. It is understood that the hosting rights will remain with Bangladesh.
“It is a shame not to be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have staged a memorable event,” said ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice, announcing the global body’s decision.
“I would like to thank the team at the BCB for exploring all avenues to try and enable the event to be hosted in Bangladesh, but travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that wasn’t feasible. However, they will retain hosting rights. We look forward to taking an ICC global event to Bangladesh in the near future.”
UAE became the strongest contender after India refused to host the World Cup citing the monsoon weather in the country. The same reason marred Sri Lanka’s chances of hosting the tournament as well.
“I’d also like to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host on behalf of the BCB and Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for their generous offers of support, and we look forward to seeing ICC global events in both of those countries in 2026,” the ICC chief further said.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) pulled out all the stops to keep the tournament from moving out of the country. The cricket governing body even tried talking to the United Nations (UN) apropos to the travel restrictions on the country. These travel warnings that many governments, including governments of a few participating members like Australia, England, Scotland, and India, issued to their citizens, became the main hurdle in Bangladesh’s path. Despite an interim government trying to control the situation after the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid resigned and fled the country, the instances of looting and increased crime worsened Bangladesh’s chances of hosting the mega-event.
Bangladesh last hosted an ICC event in 2014, when the Asian country played host to both the men’s and women’s T20 World Cup. The country also co-hosted the ODI World Cup 2011 with Sri Lanka and India. The tournament will run from 3rd October to 20th October, with 10 teams competing to lift the cup. ICC is expected to reveal the schedule anytime soon.
