The International Cricket Council (ICC) is keeping a close eye on the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh as the country is scheduled to host the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in October.
While no decision has been taken yet, there are strong indications of the tournament moving to a neighbouring country as the first fixture is less than two months away and situation is still not in control.
“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,” says ICC spokesperson.
The Board members are likely to get in a huddle and take a call by maximum next week on the multi-nation event and India, Sri Lanka and UAE are emerging as the alternate options.
Out of the three, India are strong favourites to become the new hosts as UAE will have to juggle bilateral commitments during that period and Sri Lanka’s weather could force the global body to look India’s way.
“The time zone has to be similar to Bangladesh that is why India, Sri Lanka and UAE are the options. Broadcaster’s interest has to be kept in mind while taking these calls and time zone becomes very important,” says a source tracking developments.
While a last-minute movement of venues is not ideal but it will not be a logistical nightmare as two ready venues, ideally close to each other, would do the job for the ICC. Dhaka and Sylhet are originally scheduled to together host 23 matches over 18 days and a similar arrangement could be made.
“Two venues are all that is required. Say an arrangement like Wankhede and DY Patil or Delhi and Mohali. Two venues not very far from each other will make it easy to host the tournament. If the tournament does move out, which is very likely, Wankhede and DY Patil will make an ideal combination as the turnout at these venues during Women’s Premier League was very good.
There could well be some challenges because of India’s domestic and international season but there are plenty of venues, meeting ICC checklist, in the country and close to each other too,” adds the source.
A final call is expected by the end of next week but at this stage, it’s very unlikely the tournament will stay in Bangladesh. Even if the situation miraculously improves in the next few days, there will be a lot of challenges in seamlessly hosting the tournament in Bangladesh.
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