The International Cricket Council (ICC) is currently reviewing whether this year’s Women’s T20 World Cup should be moved from Bangladesh to another place due to the ongoing anti-government protests and political instability in that country. The ICC is also considering moving the event to alternative venues such as the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka or India. This comes in the wake of widespread unrest since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned.
Bangladesh’s present political disarray results from recurring demonstrations largely by students demanding a disbandment of quotas for government jobs, which has turned into a wider anti-government campaign. Amidst mounting pressure and Dhaka’s protest Ms. Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, stepped down. She arrived in India on Monday evening but her next steps remain unknown.
To address these developments happening so quickly an Anti-Discrimination Student Movement in Bangladesh suggested that Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus should lead an interim government to guide the country through the current challenges.
The Women’s T20 World Cup 2018 will be held from October 3-20th this year. The governing body – ICC is undertaking a process to find out other places where it can hold its events without any disruptions. They have been closely monitoring with BCB (Bangladesh cricket board), local security agencies in Bangladesh and independent security consultants.
“The ICC is closely monitoring developments in coordination with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Their security agencies, and our own independent security consultants. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all participants,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted an official statement from the ICC.
In addition, authorities in several countries whose teams are due to take part including Australia. England and India have advised their citizens not travel to Bangladesh until further notice because of its current unrest.
On one hand, there are certain problems associated with hosting multi-national tournaments in India or Sri Lanka. There might be some difficulties regarding issuing visas for Pakistani players even though they compete for different teams. Due to strained political relations between the two countries. October is a rainy season in Sri Lanka and matches can be disrupted.
Relocating global tournaments to backup venues is not uncommon for ICC. In 2021, the Men’s T20 World Cup was moved from India to UAE and Oman because of COVID-19 pandemic.
ICC is following up on how things are going and will always ensure all its stakeholders that participants are safe. They would also be willing to change the venue of the tournament if need be.
