When the countdown is on for Bangladesh to host the Women’s T20 World Cup in October, the nation remains in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Recent civil unrest sparked by the quota reform movement has raised serious concerns for the International Cricket Council (ICC).
While the situation appears to have calmed in the past 24 hours, cricket’s governing body is keeping a watchful eye on developments.
Although the tournament is still some way off, the ICC has confirmed it is monitoring the situation closely. The matter was raised at the recent ICC annual meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, but was not a central topic of discussion.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been informed of the ICC’s concerns and will undoubtedly be working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth running tournament. With the Women’s World Cup scheduled to kick off on October 3rd, culminating in the final on October 20th, there is little room for error.
The tournament will see 10 teams battle it out across Dhaka and Sylhet, with Australia and England heading up the two groups respectively. The full tournament schedule, including warm-up matches at BKSP, has already been released.
With the eyes of the cricketing world set to be on Bangladesh, the BCB faces a monumental task in delivering a successful World Cup while navigating the ongoing challenges facing the nation.
Earlier on May 5, schedule of the ninth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup was announced in Dhaka while the grouping was also settled on the day. Six-time champions Australia are in Group A along with India, New Zealand, Pakistan and a team of qualifiers.
Bangladesh was placed in Group B including England, South Africa, West Indies, South Africa and a team from the qualifiers.
A total of 23 matches will take place in the Women’s World Cup. The venue for the warm-up matches fixed for BKSP. The world Cup matches will be held at Ground 2 of Mirpur Home of Cricket and Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
