The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for October has been moved out of Bangladesh and will instead take place in the United Arab Emirates, the International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday.

The decision to change the venue follows unrest in Bangladesh that led to the overthrow of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee the country at the start of the month after 15 years of iron-fisted rule.

More than 450 people were killed in the weeks of protests leading up to her August 5 ouster, most by police fire. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has since taken over as interim leader.

“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.”

The 10-team tournament will be staged October 3-20 across two venues in the UAE – Dubai and Sharjah.

Australia have won six of the eight previous editions, including each of the last three.

The UAE stepped in to host the men’s T20 World Cup in 2021, along with Oman, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to be relocated from India.

Press Release, Source: AFP