"I'd find it hard to fathom playing in Bangladesh" Alyssa Healy on ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024

Alyssa Healy will lead Australia’s title defence at Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s ongoing turmoil, Alyssa Healy, the Australian women’s team captain, has opined that hosting the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Bangladesh would be the “wrong thing to do.”

Bangladesh is originally scheduled to host the women’s T20 World Cup in October this year. However, given the political and civil unrest in the country, which has resulted in violence among people and upheaval in the Bangladesh Cricket Board after the Sheikh Hasina government was dissolved, the ICC is very likely to move the tournament out of Bangladesh.

Healy says she would “find it hard to fathom” to play in Bangladesh given their current circumstances, with the country struggling financially. Hosting a tournament would require significant financial and manual resources to be used up.

“I’d find it hard to fathom playing there [in Bangladesh] at the moment, as a human being, I feel like it might be the wrong thing to do. That would be) taking resources away from a country that is really struggling. They’re needing everyone they can possibly get in there helping people that are dying,” Healy was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“There’s obviously bigger factors at play than putting a cricket tournament on in Bangladesh at the moment … but I’ll leave it to the ICC to work out,” Healy added.

Venue change won’t affect the Australian team: Alyssa Healy

After India declined ICC’s offer to host the tournament, UAE and Zimbabwe have emerged as the likeliest options. The ICC is believed to make a final decision on August 20.

Australia are the defending champions, having won the 2023 edition of the tournament in South Africa. Australia, in fact, have won the last three women’s T20 World Cup tournaments.

Healy says a potential venue change won’t impact her team.

“Whether it is in Bangladesh, or it’s not in Bangladesh, I don’t think affects us greatly with the make-up of what we’ve got. We’re well prepared for whatever is thrown at us,” she asserted.

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