ICC shifts Women’s T20 WC from trouble-torn Bangladesh to UAE

The highly-anticipated ninth edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup will now take place in the UAE with Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) continuing to host the event. The ICC confirmed that the tournament will now be held by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in UAE because many countries have expressed concern over security because of travel advisories by their respective governments following political turmoil in the country.

“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.

The reason behind the late change in plans by the International Cricket Council (ICC) is the state of unrest in Bangladesh with violence and cases of fatalities emerging every day after the takeover by a new government in the country.

The tournament will now take place across the two venues in the UAE – Dubai and Sharjah – from Oct.3 to 20 this year.

“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,” it further added.

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.

With its world-class facilities and infrastructure, the UAE is well-equipped to stage the Women’s T20 World Cup. 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.

“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,” concluded the statement.

Meanwhile, a host of Ireland’s best players have been rewarded for their strong performances against Sri Lanka by making giant strides on the latest ICC Women’s Player Rankings.

Ireland have already clinched the ODI component of their white-ball series with Sri Lanka 2-0, with the likes of Orla Prendergast, Leah Paul, Amy Hunter and Arlene Kelly leading the way with excellent efforts with bat and ball.

Prendergast jumps nine places to 28th on the latest ODI rankings for batters after her magnificent unbeaten century in the opening game of that series, while Paul improves four spots to 29th following her Player of the Match performance with the bat in the second contest.

Teammate Hunter rises 10 rungs to move to equal 34th on the same list for ODI batters, while Sri Lanka trio Nilakshika Silva (up three spots to 32nd), Kavisha Dilhari (up four places to 50th) and Vishmi Gunaratne (up 22 spots to 53rd) also made some ground.

Kelly is the big improver on the latest rankings for ODI bowlers as she improves three spots to 27th after a three-wicket haul in the second game of the series, while Sri Lanka will be buoyed by the ongoing improvement made by Kavisha Dilhari as she rises five places to equal 30th for bowlers and six spots to 17th on the list for ODI all-rounders.

It is a similar story on the updated rankings for T20I players, with a large group of stars from Sri Lanka and Ireland making gains following the completion of their series that finished tied with one win apiece.

Harshitha Samarawickrama gains three places to move to equal 13th on the latest rankings for T20I batters following consecutive half-centuries, while Ireland opener Gaby Lewis gains four spots to move to 21st on the same list after her magnificent century in the second match of that series.

Dilhari (up two spots to 15th) and Prendergast (up two places to 17th) also made good ground on the rankings for T20I all-rounders following impressive performances in the 20-over format.