ICC mulls back-up venues for 2024 women’s T20 WC amid Bangladesh turmoil

New Delhi [India], August 6 (ANI): ICC could shift this year’s women’s T20 World Cup from Bangladesh, which has been hit by anti-government agitations over the last few weeks.

UAE, Sri Lanka and India are among the venues shortlisted as back-ups in case of the tournament, as per ESPNCricinfo.

Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigning from her post in the wake of mounting protests. The protests, majorly by students demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs, took the shape of anti-government protests.

Bangladesh PM Hasina arrived in India on Monday evening after tendering her resignation in the wake of mounting protests in Dhaka. It is not clear if the Bangladeshi Prime Minister will stay in Delhi or move to another location.

Meanwhile, in Dhaka, the leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement have proposed an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, in a bid to address Bangladesh’s ongoing challenge.

The women’s T20 WC is scheduled to take place from October 3 to 20 this year but ICC is preparing a list of back-up, alternate venues.

An ICC official said on Monday that the governing body of cricket worldwide is monitoring the situation in Bangladesh and all options regarding venues are being kept open.

“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,” said a statement from ICC as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

Following the developments on Monday, the government of at least three nations, Australia, England and India, which will be participating in the tournament, have issued travel advisories to their citizens and urged them against visiting Bangladesh.

While India and Sri Lanka are capable of hosting this multi-nation tournament, there are a few hurdles as in SL, rain could play spoilsport during October and in India, visas for Pakistan players could be an issue, as per ESPNCricinfo.

The last instance of ICC moving a global tournament out of a regular venue to a back-up venue was in 2021 when the men’s T20 World Cup was shifted out of India to UAE and Oman due to the COVID-19 pandemic.