Women's T20 World Cup switched to UAE after violent protests in Bangladesh

The Women’s T20 World Cup has been moved to the United Arab Emirates from Bangladesh following violent protests in the scheduled host nation, the International Cricket Council has announced.

Student-led anti-government demonstrations and continuing civil unrest saw Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina resign and flee to self-exile in India.

Given the security concerns, governing body the ICC said the T20 World Cup, set to run from October 3-20, will instead take place across two venues in the UAE – Dubai and Sharjah – with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) continuing to retain hosting rights.

ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said: "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."

Ireland did not qualify for the ten-nation tournament. England and Scotland both qualified, and were drawn together in Group B, with their fixture initially set to be the final one of the opening stage on 14 October.