Bangladesh political crisis: What’s the fate of the Women’s T20 World Cup?

There’s a speculation that the tournament could eventually be moved to an alternative venue. India, Sri Lanka and the UAE have been kept as back-up options.

Back in May, the ICC unveiled the T20 World Cup schedule in Dhaka in an event, in the presence of India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her Bangladesh counterpart Nigar Sultana. | Photo Credit: ICC

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh and its Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina tendering her resignation on Monday, uncertainty looms large over the country hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled in October.

Though the tournament is still nearly a couple of months away, there’s a speculation that the tournament could eventually be moved to an alternative venue. India, Sri Lanka and the UAE have been kept as backup options. However, an ICC spokesperson told  Sportstar that the global body is ‘closely monitoring the situation’ before deciding on the future course of action.

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

With a change in government, a shake-up is possible at the BCB management as well, and several sources in the participating Boards, including the BCCI, have indicated that the issue will be discussed with the ICC shortly, depending on how ‘things pan out in Bangladesh and the BCB’.

Despite several attempts by this publication, neither BCB president Najmul Hasan Papon nor other functionaries of the Board, were available for a comment on the issue.

Over 18 days, 10 teams are scheduled to play 23 fixtures at two venues in Bangladesh - the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet - between October 3 and 20.

Sources have confirmed that due to the ongoing turmoil, neither the BCB nor the ICC could start the ticketing process and even the media accreditation, which usually gets done two months prior to the event, is yet to begin.

During the ICC’s annual conference in Colombo, the matter was raised by a few member nations, but it was not on the agenda and wasn’t discussed formally.

Back in May, the ICC unveiled the T20 World Cup schedule in Dhaka in an event, in the presence of India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her Bangladesh counterpart Nigar Sultana. Ahead of the event, the two captains caught up with the then Prime Minister Hasina at her residence.