Australia Captain Alyssa Healy's Bold Stance on Competing in Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh

Sydney: Australian captain Alyssa Healy has expressed concerns about holding the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October, citing the ongoing recovery from a period of widespread violence and protests that resulted in numerous casualties.

The country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus being made the chief of the interim government. The Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled in Bangladesh from October 3-19 with 10 teams, including defending champions Australia, competing in the event.

“I’d find it hard to fathom playing there at the moment, as a human being, I feel like it might be the wrong thing to do,” Healy was quoted as saying by AAP on Cricket Australia. “(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, however, said that the final call rests with the International Cricket Council, which is expected to make a decision this week. “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,” she added.

Australia recently played a white-ball series in Bangladesh with all the six matches — three ODIs and an equal number of T20Is — being played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. It was Australia’s first visit to the country since the 2014 T20 World Cup, and was pivotal to their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

However, Healy was confident that even if the tournament is shifted elsewhere, the entire exercise won’t go waste. Australia had won all six matches held in March-April. “Going there and getting used to those conditions and slow turning wickets has probably put us in a good place,” Healy said.

“It’s more about what our team looks like, and what people are working on individually headed into a World Cup on the subcontinent. “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.”