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How can Bangladesh, amid political and civil unrest, safely host the Women's T20 World Cup?

TAWHID QURESHI: Against the backdrop of instability, the Bangladesh Cricket Board and ICC have remained coy about the situation which throws into question the staging of the tournament, which begins on October 3

Tawhid Qureshi | 06/08/2024 at 14:10

The sudden change in government in Bangladesh, following weeks of bloody unrest, has plunged the country into a deep crisis. Consequently, Bangladesh's hosting of the Women's T20 World Cup is now under severe risk, due to safety concerns.

Bangladesh's beleaguered Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned from her role on Monday (August 5) before swiftly fleeing the country, to an unknown destination. This was prefaced by anti-government protests which saw hundreds killed by government forces.

The army has installed a caretaker government, with a mission to restore peace to the country and new elections are promised. However, the transfer of political power is rarely peaceful in Bangladesh. There have been reports of widescale disorder with mobs, loyal to opponents of the previous regime, carrying out violent revenge attacks.

The ICC, who have remained tight-lipped about the ongoing political turmoil, finally offered a short statement on the subject.

"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."

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Anti-government protestors display storm former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's palace in Dhaka (K M ASAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Clearly, although it's a fluid situation, Bangladesh is currently in no fit state to host a major sporting tournament, just under eight weeks out from the ninth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup. The issue for the ICC therefore, is how long they are prepared to wait before a semblance of normality returns to the South Asian country.

The Cricketer understands that the process of media accreditation for the tournament was due to begin in mid-August, however, this information was gleaned prior to recent developments, which will have thrown plans into disarray.

Similar to most other South Asian countries, Bangladesh's cricket board, the BCB, are strongly affiliated to whichever political party happens to be in government. The BCB President and at least two members of the board of directors are serving MPs for the Awami League, the deposed ruling party and many others have close links. Former Bangladesh captains, Shakib Al-Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza, are also Awami Leaque MPs, and have notably remained silent during the student-led anti-government protests.

Indeed, the numerous billboard images of these two Bangladeshi cricket icons, advertising everything from mobile phones to washing up liquid, were routinely vandalised, during the anti-government protests. Such anger and hostility towards the country's most revered sporting heroes was inconceivable, just a month or two ago.

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Bangladesh men's talisman Shakib al Hasan is an Awami League MP (AFP via Getty Images)

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Bangladesh is scheduled to be the centre of the cricket conversation in October (Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

As a result, it's unclear exactly how many current senior BCB officials will remain in post, making it all the more challenging for the ICC to discuss logistical concerns. The BCB itself has somewhat predictably, also been silent, in terms of the political turmoil. The BCB's media WhatsApp group was quiet for the duration of a recent internet blackout, precipitated by the unrest. It only whirred back to life when a message appeared, containing a scorecard from a Bangladesh A team match, without a hint of the chaos taking place outside.

As well as hosting the women's T20 World Cup, Bangladesh's cricket commitments have been numerous. The women's team took part in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, during the height of the student protests, and at one point even faced the prospect of not being able to return home as scheduled due to the instability.

The men's team are preparing for a Test tour to Pakistan, and the only concession to the upheaval taking place, was when the BCB announced that a training session due to take place on Monday, had been postponed "due to unavoidable circumstances". The business-as-usual attitude, simply cannot be maintained any longer.

Perhaps, during a time of inevitable bloodshed and trauma, the staging of a cricket tournament should seem inconsequential. As innocent lives are being turned upside down and stability appears to be a distant stranger, cricket's place in the world has never felt smaller.

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