In an attempt to retain hosting rights for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, the Bangladeshi government is attempting last-ditch efforts through the UN. Bangladesh’s interim administration, through its youth and sports adviser Asif Mahmud, announced that it will discuss with the UN the nations whose people are prohibited from traveling to Bangladesh.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) notified the participating boards on Saturday that it continues to monitor the situation in Bangladesh and would explore all possibilities, including relocating the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. As things stand, the governments of Australia, New Zealand, India, and the United Kingdom (England and Scotland) have either asked or discouraged their citizens from visiting Bangladesh. This is the BCB’s largest objection to organizing the competition. Cricket boards have minimal control over travel bans or restriction announcements; only the corresponding governments have the authority to lift them.
“There are travel restrictions for some countries and so we will speak with the United Nations,” Asif Mahmud, the youth and sports advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government said. “There are some issues regarding security and infrastructure and we will talk in this regard with professor Muhammad Yunus (chief adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government). He is a sports lover and hope that he can resolve the matter.”
The World Cup uncertainty comes at a time when the BCB is experiencing a significant crisis. The BCB is currently experiencing a serious problem on top of the uncertainty surrounding the World Cup. Their president, the former minister of sports, Nazmul Hassan, has not been seen since the Awami League administration fell on August 5. A number of directors are similarly untraceable, despite having political connections—direct or indirect.
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Mahmud stated that while he was aware of the board’s requirement for independence in its decision-making, he had talked about the potential of an interim body to oversee the BCB.
“The BCB president is missing. Of course, for a federation to function, all of its organs need to work. The president holds an important responsibility and he is absent. The BCB is an autonomous federation and we cannot give them any decision. We have suggested to the BCB directors to look at how to resolve the issue within the ICC’s legal framework. They will report to us later on whether to appoint someone for an interim period. We will continue the process in this regard. We want to make required changes but at the same time we need to follow a process. We don’t want to change the person; rather, we want to change the system so that whoever comes in by following that system, corruption cannot come in and we want to take steps so that we can make a permanent solution.”
Huq, who is recognized as one of the primary designers of Bangladeshi cricket, particularly for his contribution to the BCB’s 2000 attainment of ICC Full Membership, expressed disappointment with the way the BCB has operated. By stating that ‘We lack in planning.’
“The BCB needs reform,” Huq said. “We gained full membership in 2000 but apart from some infrastructural development, we haven’t seen much improvement in our performance in the last 24 years. BCB doesn’t own a cricket ground, for instance. We lack in planning, and even when we have a plan, nobody has delivered on it. BCB officials don’t lack in experience. Many of the directors are involved for 20-30 years, so their failure is quite disappointing.”
