BCB seeks security assurance from Army Chief for Women's T20 World Cup conduct: report

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is holding on to hopes of hosting the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, despite the country's current state of unrest following violent protests. 

The interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, has imposed an emergency, raising concerns over the feasibility of the tournament scheduled to begin on September 27.

According to the media reports, in a bid to secure the event, the BCB has reached out to Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman, seeking assurances for the safety and security of the players and officials. 

This move comes as the International Cricket Council (ICC) closely monitors the situation, considering alternative host countries in the same time zone as Bangladesh, with India, the UAE, and Sri Lanka emerging as potential options.

The unrest in Bangladesh has led to the departure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several BCB directors, including BCB president Nazmul Hassan, who were associated with Hasina's Awami League. 

Despite these challenges, some BCB officials remain in Dhaka, determined to push forward with the tournament plans.

"We are trying to host the tournament," Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu, BCB's Umpire Committee chairman, told Cricbuzz. "To be honest there are not too many among us present in the country and on Thursday (August 8) we have sent a letter to the Army Chief regarding assurance about the security of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup as we have only two months in hand."

"ICC communicated with us two days back and we replied that we will come back to them shortly. Today after the [interim] government is formed, still we have to give them assurance of the security considering it cannot be given by the board or any anyone else apart from a law enforcement agency of the country and so we sent the letter today and after getting written assurance from them [the Army] we will inform the ICC," he added.

Ten teams are set to compete in 23 matches over 18 days of the World Cup, scheduled to be held from October 3 to 20 at two venues in Bangladesh: the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet.

The ICC is expected to make a final decision on the tournament's venue by August 10, following a thorough assessment of the situation in Bangladesh.