Unrest in Bangladesh threatens ICC T20 World cup

Continued violent protests could possibly derail Bangladesh’s chance of hosting its biggest event in sports.

The competition is set to take place in between March 16 and April 6 and will be a 16 team competition. However, protestors demanding for the removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have turned violent which could threaten the hosting of the sporting event.

West Indies have already pulled out their U19 team on Sunday from a tour of Bangladesh after a bomb explosion in the port city of Chittagong sparked fears over the squad’s safety and security.

The Twenty20 World cup is set to be held in three cities - the capital Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.

“If this situation prevails, then any big tournament or participation of any big country will be under threat,” Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan told reporters.

“This must end in January and preferably in December.”

“The quicker this political situation improves the better because the Sri Lanka tour is in January and then we have the Asia Cup. It needs to be resolved before that,” said Hassan, a lawmaker of the ruling party.

Despite the situation, a team of ICC inspectors declared last week that they were “happy” with security arrangements but said they would continue to monitor the situation.

Bangladesh is also due to host a tour by Sri Lanka in January before then holding the Asia Cup,which begins in February and will feature India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.