The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite original plans to be held in Bangladesh.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed the move following travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that it wasn’t feasible.
Despite the change of country, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will still be held in October and hosted by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The women’s event will be played across the two venues in the UAE – Dubai and Sharjah – from 3-20 October.
Over recent years, the UAE, home to the ICC headquarters, has become a hub for cricket. The country has hosted several qualifier tournaments, as well as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 alongside Oman.
As well as boosting its prominence in the hospitality sector of cricket, the UAE’s teams are improving as well – each currently ranked 16th in the ICC T20I Team Rankings. This improvement comes as a result of its improved facilities and infrastructure, which the ICC believes positions it well to host the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Geoff Allardice, Chief Executive of ICC, stated: “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.
“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 competition will be hoping that this year can replicate the last edition in 2022, which the ICC revealed was its most digitally engaged women’s event ever.
