Women's 2024 T20 World Cup shifted from Bangladesh to UAE

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 will be relocated from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to security concerns and travel advisories. 

The tournament, originally slated to take place in Bangladesh from October 3 to 20, will now be held in Dubai and Sharjah.

The decision comes in the wake of escalating internal unrest in Bangladesh, including student protests and political instability, which raised significant concerns about the safety and feasibility of hosting a global event. 

Although other countries, including Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, offered to host the tournament, the UAE was deemed the most suitable alternative.

During a virtual meeting on Tuesday, ICC Board members unanimously agreed that the current situation in Bangladesh made it untenable to proceed with the original plans.

Despite the shift in venue, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will retain its status as the official host. This arrangement mirrors the format used during the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup, where the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was the official host, but matches were held in the UAE due to the pandemic.

ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice expressed regret over the necessity of relocating the event but emphasized the importance of player safety. 

"It is a shame not to be hosting the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have staged a memorable event. I would like to thank the team at the BCB for exploring all avenues to try and enable the event to be hosted in Bangladesh, but travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that wasn't feasible. However, they will retain hosting rights. We look forward to taking an ICC global event to Bangladesh in the near future," Allardice said.

Allardice also extended his gratitude to the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host the event on behalf of the BCB. 

"I'd also like to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for stepping in to host on behalf of the BCB and Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for their generous offers of support, and we look forward to seeing ICC global events in both of those countries in 2026," he concluded.