BCB writes to army chief for security assurance in hosting Women’s T20 WC: Report

New Delhi: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BC) has written a letter to the Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman in seeking security assurance for the conduct of the Women’s T20 World Cup, especially after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government took charge.

The 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in Bangladesh from October 3-20, with warm-up games starting on September 27. But the ongoing turmoil and political shake-up, including resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her departure from the country, has meant doubts have risen over Bangladesh hosting the tournament in less than two months’ time.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, several BCB directors, including President Nazmul Hassan, have also left Bangladesh considering they had the backing of Hasina's party, Awami League. But it added some other directors of the board are still in Dhaka and have retained hopes of hosting the marquee event.

"We are trying to host the tournament. To be honest there are not too many among us present in the country and on Thursday (August 8) we have sent a letter to the Army Chief regarding assurance about the security of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup as we have only two months in hand," Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu, BCB's Umpire Committee chairman, was quoted as saying in the report.

An official statement from a spokesperson of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on August 5 said the governing body is closely monitoring developments in Bangladesh, before deciding their next steps, adding that safety and well-being of all participants is their priority.

But the report mentioned India, UAE and Sri Lanka fit the requirement of hosting the tournament in case of it being shifted out of Bangladesh, adding that the ICC will wait until August 10 before taking a decision on the conduct of the event after assessing the current on-ground situation in Bangladesh.

"ICC communicated with us two days back and we replied that we will come back to them shortly. Today after the (interim) government is formed, still we have to give them assurance of the security considering it cannot be given by the board or any anyone else apart from a law enforcement agency of the country and so we sent the letter today and after getting written assurance from them (the Army) we will inform the ICC," added Mithu.

Ten teams will play 23 matches over 18 days of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup at two venues - the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet. There will be 10 warm-up matches from September 27 to October 1, all taking place at BKSP in Dhaka.

India are in Group A alongside New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and defending champions Australia, while Group B comprises of hosts Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies and Scotland. Top two teams from Group A and Group B will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled for October 17 in Sylhet, and October 18 in Dhaka respectively, with the final to be held in Dhaka on October 20.