The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, originally set to take place in Bangladesh this October, has been relocated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday.
The decision to shift the venue was made due to the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, which culminated in the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month after 15 years in power. The weeks of protests leading up to her removal resulted in over 450 deaths, most of them caused by police action. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has since taken charge as interim leader.
“Unfortunately, the Women’s T20 World Cup won’t be held in Bangladesh, as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have delivered a fantastic event,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement. “I appreciate the BCB’s efforts to explore all options to host the tournament, but the travel advisories issued by several participating countries made it unfeasible. However, the BCB retains the hosting rights, and we look forward to bringing an ICC global event to Bangladesh soon.”
The 10-team tournament will now be held from October 3-20 across two venues in the UAE — Dubai and Sharjah. Australia, the dominant force in women’s cricket, has won six of the previous eight editions, including the last three.
This is not the first time the UAE has stepped in as a host; it also co-hosted the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021, along with Oman, after the event was moved from India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.