HomeNewsICC to monitor violence in Bangladesh ahead of World T20
ICC to monitor violence in Bangladesh ahead of World T20 2014
The International Cricket Council (ICC) says it will monitor political violence in Bangladesh ahead of next year's ICC World Twenty20 in the troubled country but is "happy" for now with arrangements.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) says it will monitor political violence in Bangladesh ahead of next year’s ICC World Twenty20 in the troubled country but is “happy” for now with arrangements.
An ICC official said there would be a “continual review” of planning for the March-April tournament in view of the turmoil that has left dozens of people dead in street protests around the country.
“This is a situation that we have to consistently monitor,” Chris Tetley, an ICC event manager, told reporters late on Monday after a final inspection of the stadiums in Dhaka and in Fatullah, just outside the capital.
“Security is something we keep discussing. Obviously the things today could be different tomorrow. There will be a continual review of our arrangements against the situation. But at this stage, we are definitely happy,” Tetley said.
Asked whether the ICC would shift the tournament to another country if the violence escalated, Tetley said: “It’s difficult to speculate because we don’t know what’s going to happen.
“All we can do is continually assess the situation and discuss with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and make plans accordingly,” he added. Opposition supporters have held protests since late October that have left 52 people dead, along with a series of strikes and blockades that have paralysed large parts of the country.
The opposition announced this week that it was boycotting elections scheduled for January 5, unless Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigns beforehand, plunging the country into renewed political turmoil.
The opposition alliance wants Hasina to step aside and make way for the polls at a later date under a neutral non-party government. Hasina has rejected the demand and instead formed an interim multi-party cabinet comprising her allies to conduct the polls.
Bangladesh is set to host the tournament in three cities, Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet — all of which have been hit by the violence.
Tetley said he was impressed with the stadiums he had inspected so far, adding that the “dressing room facilities here are fantastic”, referring to Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The ICC team will inspect facilities in Chittagong on Tuesday and Sylhet on Wednesday.
The ICC World Twenty20 will feature all of the world’s top teams plus cricket newcomers including Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Nepal.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.