Bangladesh trying hard to keep hosting rights of Women's T20 World Cup 2024 despite security concerns

The hosting rights of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 are in serious danger given the recent security situation in Bangladesh. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been in direct contact with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the past few days over the situation in the country.

The last few days have seen political unrest in Bangladesh after their Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to leave the country because of the danger to her life. Even BCB chief Nazmul Hassan is supposed to have left the country which leaves the board in dire straits.

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, known as the Awami League government earlier this week, a new interim government has been formed in the country which took oath on Thursday (August 8). On the same day, the BCB is supposed to have written to the Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman, asking him about the security assurance to host the Women's T20 World Cup 2024.

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Bangladesh trying hard to keep the hosting rights of the Women's T20 World Cup 2024

According to the Daily Star, the ICC is in constant discussions with the BCB to resolve the matter quickly so that they get enough time to prepare alternative options. It is believed that the ICC has already started looking for alternative options to host the women's marquee event.

BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury revealed that the board has communicated with the country's army regarding the security issues. However, the BCB is yet to receive a response from the army.

"We had communicated with them (the Army) but by that time the (interim) government had already been formed. Since it has been formed, they will place priority on it as required," Nizamuddin Chowdhury was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

"We have communicated with them and the sooner we get a response the better we will understand the situation. We had communicated with them very late yesterday (Thursday) and there was very little time for them to go through it," he added.

Since the BCB chief and various board members are not present at the office currently, the board is not able to function properly. But Bangladesh is still confident of hosting the tournament safely.

ICC monitoring the situation closely

Meanwhile, the ICC is also reported to be watching the situation closely. According to the Daily Star, the ICC will only make an official announcement after a decision will be finalized.

"ICC had sent us a letter and then we communicated with our Army chief. We will again ask tomorrow [today]. The letter that we had written was also directed to the sports ministry, Air Force, Navy and other relevant parties. So, let's see," BCB umpires' committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

Women's T20 World Cup 2024 schedule

The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 will comprise of ten teams. The tournament is due to start on October 3. The ten teams have been divided into two groups of five teams each. After the group stage, the semi-finals will be played which will be followed by the final on October 20.

The tournament will take place across two venues of the country, Dhaka and Sylhet. Australia are the current defending champions of the Women's T20 World Cup.