Bangladesh Cricket Board seeks UN support about keeping Women’s T20 World Cup hosting rights

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is mulling approaching the United Nations (UN) about holding onto the 2024 T20 World Cup hosting rights following the unrest in the country. Asif Mahmud - the youth and sports adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, said the board will speak with the UN about the participating countries that have restricted their citizens from travelling to Bangladesh.

On Saturday (Aug10), the ICC informed the participating cricket boards about monitoring the situation in the country, including considering moving the tournament elsewhere.

As things stand, the governments of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (England and Scotland) and India have discouraged their citizens from travelling to Bangladesh.

"There are travel restrictions for some countries, and so we will speak with the United Nations," Mahmud said. "There are some issues regarding security and infrastructure, and we will talk in this regard with Professor Yunus [chief adviser to Bangladesh's interim government]. He is a sports lover, and hope that he can resolve the matter."

Meanwhile, the uncertainty hovering over hosting the T20 World Cup began when the country’s cricket board was going through a crisis. BCB’s president, Nazmul Hassan, and the former sports minister have gone missing since the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, while several directors, who have direct or indirect political connections, are also out of reach.

Interim body to run BCB?

Meanwhile, given the situation, Mahmud said he had asked the BCB directors to act quickly and resolve this issue within the ICC’s legal framework.

"The BCB president is missing. Of course, for a federation to function, all of its organs need to work. The president holds an important responsibility, and he is absent. The BCB is an autonomous federation, and we cannot give them any decision.

"We have suggested to the BCB directors to look at how to resolve the issue within the ICC's legal framework. They will report to us later on whether to appoint someone for an interim period. We will continue the process in this regard.

"We want to make the required changes, but at the same time, we need to follow a process. We don't want to change the person; rather, we want to change the system so that whoever comes in by following that system, corruption cannot come in, and we want to take steps so that we can make a permanent solution,” Mahmud added.

The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled in Bangladesh from October 3 to October 20.

(With inputs from agencies)