The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, originally scheduled for October in Bangladesh, will now take place in the United Arab Emirates, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday.
This decision comes in the wake of political unrest in Bangladesh, which resulted in the overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country earlier this month after 15 years in power. The unrest, which led to her ouster on August 5, saw over 450 fatalities, most of which were caused by police fire during the protests. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has since assumed the role of interim leader.
“It is unfortunate that the Women’s T20 World Cup will not be hosted in Bangladesh, as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have delivered a memorable event,” said ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice in a statement.
“I want to express my gratitude to the BCB team for exploring every possible option to keep the event in Bangladesh. However, travel advisories from the governments of several participating teams made it unfeasible.”
Despite the change in venue, Bangladesh will retain the hosting rights for a future ICC global event, with Allardice expressing hope to bring a major tournament to the country soon.
The 10-team tournament will now take place from October 3 to 20 across two venues in the UAE — Dubai and Sharjah.
Australia, the dominant force in Women’s T20 cricket, has won six of the eight previous editions, including the last three consecutively.
The UAE previously stepped in to host the men’s T20 World Cup in 2021, along with Oman, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced its relocation from India.
