ICC Monitors Situation in Bangladesh Ahead of Women's T20 World Cup Amid Political Unrest
Safety Concerns Arise as Bangladesh Faces Violent Protests and Leadership Changes
The International Cricket Council's (ICC) internal security team is keeping eye on the situation in Bangladesh as the country is scheduled to host the Women's T20 World Cup in October. As per the pre-decided schedule, Bangladesh is to host the Women's T20 World Cup from October 3 to 20. The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Dhaka and Sylhet in Bangladesh.
The violence in Bangladesh forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country. Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zama said on Monday amid massive protests against the Hasina government in Dhaka that an interim government would take power in Bangladesh. More than 100 people have lost their lives in the last two days in the violence spread in the country.
The ICC is currently adopting a wait-and-watch policy on this issue. An ICC board member said, 'The ICC has an independent security monitoring system in all its member countries. The situation is being closely monitored, but there are seven weeks left for the tournament to start. In such a situation, it is too early to comment on whether the tournament will be shifted from Bangladesh or not.'
The ICC source said that there was a similar situation of unrest in Sri Lanka in March 2022 when protesters stormed the official residence of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, citing corruption and inflation. After this incident, the Australian cricket team travelled there for a bilateral series in June.
However, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strictly advised Indian citizens not to travel to Bangladesh until further notice. The BCCI always follows the government's advice in such situations.
The ICC has contingency plans for unavoidable situations and Sri India or Lanka could be an option in this case. Sri Lanka hosted the 2012 men's T20 World Cup there between September and October. India has also adequate infrastructure to host such an event on short notice.
An ICC spokesperson said that the ICC is closely monitoring developments in coordination with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), security agencies of the country and ICC’s own independent security advisors. He also added that their main priority is the safety and well-being of all participants.
