The 2024 Women's T20 World Cup will be moved to the UAE from Bangladesh following discussions at an ICC board meeting over political unrest in the country.
The move comes after several tumultuous weeks, which culminated in the resignation of prime minister Hasina Sheikh, who fled the country following violent protests. The unrest in Bangladesh has led to the deaths of over 400 people in student demonstrations, and Hasina is now being investigated for murder. An interim government has been installed in the country in the wake of Hasina's resignation.
The World Cup, which was due to be hosted in Bangladesh for the first time since 2013, will now be played in the UAE, with the BCB retaining hosting rights. The tournament will take place across two venues in Dubai and Sharjah from October 3 to October 20.
ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement: "It's 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.
"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 participating teams meant it wasn't feasible. However, they will retain hosting rights. We look forward to taking an ICC global event to Bangladesh in the near future."
Earlier this week, Australia captain Alyssa Healy voiced her concern over playing the tournament in Bangladesh, saying "as a human being, I feel like it might be the wrong thing to do". Australia go into the tournament as defending champions having won the trophy on home soil in 2020.
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