ICC moves Women's T20 World Cup from crisis-hit Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates

Australia, a record six-time champion, is the favorite to win the World Cup.

The much-awaited ninth edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup will now take place in the United Arab Emirates. The event will continue to be hosted by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The ICC confirmed that the tournament will now be held by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in the United Arab Emirates as many countries have raised safety concerns due to travel warnings issued by their respective governments in the wake of the political unrest in the country.

“It is a shame not to host the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have delivered an unforgettable event,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement.

The reason for the International Cricket Council's (ICC) short-term change of plan is the unrest in Bangladesh, where there have been daily outbreaks of violence and deaths since a new government came to power.

This year the tournament will take place from October 3 to 20 at two venues in the UAE – Dubai and Sharjah.

“I would like to thank the BCB team for exploring all options to host the event in Bangladesh, but due to travel warnings from the governments of some of the participating teams, this was not possible. However, they retain the hosting rights. We look forward to bringing a global ICC event to Bangladesh in the near future,” it added.

The United Arab Emirates, where the ICC headquarters are located, has developed into a major cricket centre in recent years and, along with Oman, is hosting numerous qualifying tournaments as well as the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.

With its world-class facilities and infrastructure, the UAE is well-equipped to host the Women's T20 World Cup. The country's growing importance in the sport is reflected in the rise of its men's and women's teams, both of which currently sit 16th in the ICC T20I Team Rankings.

“I would also like to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for hosting on behalf of the BCB, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe for their generous offers of support. We look forward to seeing global ICC events in both of these countries in 2026,” the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, many of Ireland's best players were rewarded for their strong performance against Sri Lanka with huge progress in the latest ICC Women's Players' Rankings.

Ireland have already won the ODI part of their white-ball series against Sri Lanka 2-0, with players such as Orla Prendergast, Leah Paul, Amy Hunter and Arlene Kelly leading the way with outstanding performances with bat and ball.

Prendergast jumps nine places to 28th in the latest ODI batting rankings after a magnificent unbeaten century in the opening game of the series, while Paul moves up four places to 29th after her player-of-the-match performance with the bat in the second game.

Teammate Hunter rises ten places to 34th on the same list for ODI batters, while Sri Lankan trio Nilakshika Silva (up three places to 32nd), Kavisha Dilhari (up four places to 50th) and Vishmi Gunaratne (up 22 places to 53rd) also gained ground.

Kelly has made a significant improvement in the latest ODI bowlers' rankings, moving up three places to 27th after taking three wickets in the second match of the series. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are benefiting from the continued improvement of Kavisha Dilhari, who moves up five places to 30th on the list of ODI all-rounders and is up six places to 17th.

The situation is similar in the updated T20I rankings, with a large group of stars from Sri Lanka and Ireland making progress after completing their series, each of which ended in a win.

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

Dilhari (up two places to 15th) and Prendergast (up two places to 17th) also gained ground in the T20I all-rounders rankings after impressive performances in the 20-over format.