UAE to stage ICC Women’s World T20

The highly-anticipated ninth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup tournament will now take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). But according to a release from the ICC on Tuesday, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will continue to host the event.

In recent weeks, political unrest in Bangladesh has seen Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ousted and forced to flee the country. Hundreds have been killed, many due to police action.

In light of the circumstances, there has been a great deal of speculation regarding the fate of the competition. Tuesday’s announcement will hopefully have settled the minds of players, administrators, and fans, with just weeks remaining before the tournament is meant to bowl off.

The tournament is meant to run from 3-20 October, with games slated for two venues – the 25,000-seat Dubai international Stadium, and the 16,000-seat Sharjah Stadium.

“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,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement.

“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.

“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.”

The UAE, home to the ICC headquarters, has become a significant hub for cricket in recent years, hosting numerous qualifier tournaments as well as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 alongside Oman.

This marks the first time the UAE will host a premier women’s cricket tournament, although it had also stepped in to host the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup, which was relocated from India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its world-class facilities and infrastructure, it is expected that the Gulf state will be well-equipped to stage the Women’s T20 World Cup. The West Indies last won the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016.

The country’s growing prominence in the sport is reflected in the rise of both its men’s and women’s teams, each currently ranked 16th in the ICC T20I Team Rankings.

(PR/TF)