Women's T20 World Cup 2024: ICC monitors situation amid protests in Bangladesh

While currently the ongoing Women's Asia Cup 2024 in Sri Lanka is the preparation for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 in Bangladesh, the situation in the WC hosting country has caught the attention of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members and managers convening for their annual conference in Colombo. Given that Bangladesh is set to host the Women's Twenty20 World Cup later this year, street protests and violence are seen as serious concerns.

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"We are closely monitoring the situation, although the event is still several months away. There have been signs of improvement over the last 24 hours," said an ICC source currently attending the conference in Colombo, according to Cricbuzz.

As for the competition scheduled to take place from October 3 to October 20, over eighteen days at two locations: the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet and the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, 10 teams will face off against each other. 

ICC authorities' fears are justified, though, given the prevalence of internet outages and the large number of international students who are departing the nation.

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The issue was not officially on the agenda at the board's meeting in Colombo, but it has been addressed with representatives of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The unrest in the country has seen over 150 people lose their lives as a result of curfews, violence, and student-led protests after a recent court decision against politically motivated admission quotas for government positions.

Back in May, the International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed the World Cup schedule in Dhaka. Captains of the women's teams from Bangladesh and India namely Nigar Sultana and Harmanpreet Kaur, were present. Before the official fixture launch, Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met with the captains at her house and wished them luck in the competition. Australia is the defending champion going into this event.

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