One of the two countries being considered to host the Women’s T20 World Cup this year is Zimbabwe. The tournament, which was originally slated to begin on October 3 in Bangladesh, is probably going to be moved because of security concerns raised by anti-government protests. After India was ruled out on Thursday, the United Arab Emirates is now the other location under consideration. It is known that the ICC board is anticipated to make a decision on Tuesday, August 20.
Zimbabwe’s desire to market itself as a destination for major cricket after successfully hosting the last two ODI World Cup Qualifiers (in 2018 and 2023) is the driving force behind their interest, which was confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. It last hosted a World Cup in 2003, sharing the hosting duties with South Africa and Kenya.
“Zimbabwe says it would like to host the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup.”
Since then, Zimbabwe has been cut off from significant events for a number of years. These events include the Robert Mugabe regime’s isolation from most of the world, hyperinflation, a self-imposed break from international competition between 2005 and 2011, and the men’s team’s failure to advance to two consecutive ODI World Cups and two of the previous three T20 World Cups. Zimbabwe is excited to serve as the tournament’s neutral hosts despite the fact that neither the women’s team nor the UAE’s have ever participated in a World Cup and will not be present this year.
Zimbabwe and Namibia will share hosting duties for the 2026 men’s Under-19 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be held in South Africa and Namibia. When that time comes, Zimbabwe Cricket and local government officials will have collaborated to construct multipurpose venues in Victoria Falls and Mutare, adding two more international grounds to the nation.For the time being, Zimbabwe can provide Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and Harare Sports Club, which also has recently installed floodlights, as locations for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup. The Takashinga Sports Club and Bulawayo Athletic Club served as the streaming venues for all of the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers’ televised matches.
Zimbabwe’s weather is predicted to be a big selling point because it will be entering summer in October and there won’t be much rain. India declined the invitation to host since the monsoon season would be ending there. It is also believed that weather-related factors caused Sri Lanka to withdraw from contention.
Crucially, at locations with a maximum capacity of 10,000, Zimbabwe will be able to draw sizable crowds, including students. The absence of spectators in stadiums with a capacity of more than 20,000 is a worry when using the UAE as a venue. Zimbabwe is also hoping that, in the end, their country will have an advantage over the United Arab Emirates due to the comparatively lower cost of hosting a tournament there.
(Cricinfo)
