With the resignation of Bangladesh’s long-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina Wajid, and the formation of an interim administration by the Chief of Army Staff, Waker-Uz-Zaman, the weeks-long political tensions in the nation have increased. Even though hundreds of people have died as a result of these anti-government protests, many believe that this development has put a stop to further escalation. Yet, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is still not persuaded to hold the Women’s T20 World Cup there.
ICC’s response to the political turmoil
To be fair, the nation is still at a crossroads; therefore, there is some risk involved in organizing a multi-national event. Given that the International Cricket Body is still facing criticism for the farcical arrangement of the Men’s T20 World Cup a few months ago, they would not want a fresh headache making life more difficult for them.
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Despite reports to the contrary, there is currently no official word on the ICC’s plans to relocate the tournament out of Bangladesh. When asked about the ICC’s decision, an official was cited as stating regarding the World Cup.
“The ICC is closely monitoring developments in coordination with the Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB], their security agencies, and our own independent security consultants. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all participants.”
The possible alternatives for the Women’s T20 World Cup and the issues therein
India, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Sri Lanka are a few possible last-minute hosts for the ten-team championship, should it be transferred outside of Bangladesh. To ensure the success of both the transfer and the competition, the ICC will need to put in a lot of work. If the T20 World Cup, which is set to take place from October 3 to October 20, gets moved to Sri Lanka, rain will be a spanner in the works for the ICC. Although India won’t have any problems with the weather, it could be difficult to rapidly give visas to players from Pakistan.
This leaves UAE as the better of the three alternative venues. However, considering the significant influence of the toss factor at the said venue, cricket enthusiasts’ excitement around the event will get more dampened than it might have been in Sri Lanka.
Political turmoil is affecting cricket at large.
Furthermore, this political unrest has also impacted the Bangladesh ‘A’ team’s departure to Pakistan. The A squad was supposed to fly to Islamabad on August 7th, but due to the temporary shutdown of Dhaka Airport, they will have to wait up to 48 hours to leave the country. A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announcement on the A team’s schedule was made public after the events of Monday.
“The BCB has confirmed to the PCB their men’s ‘A’ cricket team’s departure for Islamabad has been delayed by 48 hours due to unforeseen circumstances,” the statement said.
“The BCB and PCB have been in regular contact for the past two days and will continue to work together on the revised tour itinerary, with further details to follow in due course. The Bangladesh ‘A’ cricket team was due to arrive in Islamabad in the wee hours of Wednesday for two four-day and three 50-over matches from 10 to 27 August.”
Bangladesh’s senior men’s squad is scheduled to depart the nation on August 17 for a two-match red-ball series in Pakistan. Despite the situation, the departure is likely to be unaffected. According to reports, PCB has even invited the Bangladesh players to come sooner and practice in Rawalpindi ahead of the Test series.
Regretfully, one of the demonstrators’ targets was Mashrafe Mortaza. The ex-cricketer led Bangladesh to their first-ever ODI World Cup quarterfinal in 2015 and was a member of the now-dissolved National Parliament and the Awami League, the political party of the Sheikh. It has been stated that the anti-government crowd set fire to and trashed his home.
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