Zimbabwe has shown a huge interest in hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, which is scheduled to commence from October 3. Initially, the tournament was supposed to be hosted by Bangladesh.
Recently, the political unrest in Bangladesh witnessed the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign and fled out of the country. This forced the ICC (International Cricket Council) to decide to move the event outside the Asian countries considering the security concerns.
Earlier, the (BCB) requested the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to host the grand tournament. However, the BCCI secretary Jay Shah has denied the option of hosting the World Cup tournament in India due to the upcoming test series against Bangladesh as well as the domestic tournaments. Also, Sri Lanka’s weather conditions are predicted to be unfavorable as there are chances of witnessing several interrupted or abandoned matches.
Meanwhile, the ICC hopes that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could be another choice to host the tournament.
Reasons why Zimbabwe is interested in hosting ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024?
After hosting the previous two ODI World Cup Qualifiers in 2018 and 2023, Zimbabwe shows interest in expanding itself as the main destination to host a big ICC tournament.
It was in 2003, that the country hosted the last ODI World Cup along with Kenya and South Africa. Since then, Zimbabwe spent many years unable to host any of the major events. During that period, the country faced many economic issues under the leadership of Robert Mugabe, which made it difficult to focus on sports.
Also, Zimbabwe’s men’s cricket team didn’t participate in test matches from 2005 to 2011. Moreover, they failed to qualify for two consecutive World Cups and two out of three T20 World Cups. In the case of the women’s cricket team, they never participated in the World Cup and will not be participating in this year’s event in any way.
Despite the below-average standards of playing cricket over the years, Zimbabwe is still excited to be a neutral host of the tournament.
What if Zimbabwe Hosts the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024?
If the ICC grants permission to Zimbabwe to host the Women’s T20 Cup 2024, the event’s organizing committee would prefer Harare Sports Cub and the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo as the hosting venues. Earlier, these two stadiums hosted the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers that were shown on TV. Additionally, a few other games were streamed online that took place at Takashinga Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club.
Most importantly, the weather conditions in Zimbabwe, supported by a huge crowd of fans could make the event much more successful than expected. Furthermore, the expenses of hosting the tournament in Zimbabwe will be much more reasonable when compared to the UAE.
Zimbabwe as Future Host for World Cups
Currently, Zimbabwe is set to host the Under-19 World Cup 2026 along with Namibia as well as jointly host the ODI World Cup 2027 with South Africa and Namibia. By that time, the country will have two more international stadiums as the Zimbabwe Cricket and local government authorities collaborate to construct multipurpose sports venues in Victoria Falls and Mutare.
At present, Zimbabwe can host the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at Harare Sports Club, which is installed with new floodlights, and the Queens Sports Club.
Zimbabwe vs India vs UAE vs Sri Lanka: Who will host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024?
Zimbabwe has the maximum chance of hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup during the monsoon season in October 2024. During this period, rain wouldn’t be a spoilsport factor to halt any of the scheduled matches.
Whereas, India would be out of the race as the country is witnessing late monsoons similar to the previous year. Similar, is the situation in Sri Lanka as well. Despite the UAE having favorable weather conditions during October, the cost of hosting the tournament will be higher than Zimbabwe. Also, the African nation is hoping that these factors could be working in their favor.
Overall Thoughts:
Finally, Zimbabwe could be ICC’s best choice for hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. It is guaranteed that the tournament in the nation can attract a decent amount of ground, which includes school children at venues, where the maximum seating capacity could be upto 10,000.
On the other side, the UAE having a large seating capacity of over 20,000 members, cannot attract a huge number of spectators.
Ultimately, the cricket world is waiting for the ICC to make a decision and give an official confirmation soon on 20th August 2024 (Tuesday).