World Cup shift after Aussie skipper’s fears
Serious concerns from players, including Australian captain Alyssa Healy, about travelling to Bangladesh amid ongoing political turmoil have resulted in October’s T20 World Cup being moved out of the country.
The Australians are the defending champions but Healy this week said she “couldn’t fathom” going to Bangladesh at the moment because “people are dying”, with more than 300 reported deaths resulting from a student uprising against the government.
The International Cricket Council had actively been looking for a new host and confirmed the tournament would be played in the United Arab Emirates, with matches in Dubai and Sharjah from October 3-20.
“It is a shame not to be hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have staged a memorable event,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said.
“I would like to thank the team at the BCB for exploring all avenues to try and enable the event to be hosted in Bangladesh, but travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that wasn’t feasible. However, they will retain hosting rights. We look forward to taking an ICC global event to Bangladesh in the near future.
The ninth edition of ICC Women’s #T20WorldCup to be held in October 2024 has been relocated to a new venue.
Details 👇https://t.co/20vK9EMEdN— ICC (@ICC) August 20, 2024
“I’d also like to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host on behalf of the BCB and Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for their generous offers of support, and we look forward to seeing ICC global events in both of those countries in 2026.”
Bangladesh has been rocked by deadly protests that caused longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country last week, and there are Australian government warnings against going there.
On Monday, Healy expressed her fears about playing a cricket tournament during such a dire situation.
“I’d find it really hard to see a cricket event going on over there at the moment and taking away resources from a country that is really struggling and they need everyone they can possibly to get in there helping people that are dying,” she said on Monday in Sydney.
“I’d find it hard to fathom playing there at the moment. I’d feel, as a human being, like it might be the wrong thing to do.
“There are bigger factors at play in Bangladesh at the moment than putting a cricket tournament on.”
Australia has won the past three T20 World Cups.
