Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is trying to make headway in communicating with the relevant authorities of the interim government in a bid to host the impending ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in October this year.
The ninth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup is set to be held exclusively in Bangladesh for the first time. The marquee event is scheduled to start on October 3 and the summit clash will take place on October 20. Bangladesh has been jolted with political tension as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country earlier this week.
Following the fall of the Awami League government last Monday, a new interim government took oath on Thursday. The same day, the BCB wrote to Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman regarding security assurance to host the tournament. Amid all the chaos, the Asian country’s chances of hosting a highly-anticipated multi-national event like the Women’s T20 World Cup hangs in the balance.
As per latest reports, it is understood that the ICC is looking to get a clear picture regarding the feasibility of organising the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as soon as possible as it needs sufficient time to assess the alternative options where the tournament could be held.
“We had communicated with them [the Army] but by that time the [interim] government had already been formed. Since it has been formed, they will place priority on it as required,” BCB chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
“We have communicated with them and the sooner we get a response the better we will understand the situation. We had communicated with them very late yesterday [Thursday] and there was very little time for them to go through it,” he added.
BCB is facing challenges in running its daily operations as many board members are not being able to turn up for work. However, the BCB chief executive asserted that the board is still confident of hosting the tournament.
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Meanwhile, ICC is also assessing the situation in Bangladesh. The global body is most likely doing an independent assessment. An ICC spokesperson said that they will make an announcement once they come to a final decision.
“ICC had sent us a letter and then we communicated with our Army chief. We will again ask tomorrow [today]. The letter that we had written was also directed to the sports ministry, Air Force, Navy and other relevant parties. So, let’s see,” BCB umpires’ committee chairman Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu said yesterday.