Australia’s T20 World Cup captain, Alyssa Healy, has expressed concerns about hosting the tournament in Bangladesh due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country. Healy believes it would be inappropriate to divert resources from relief efforts to a sporting event.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to announce the tournament’s host this week, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) considered the frontrunner. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are also potential options.
Healy’s comments reflect the concerns of several governments, including Australia, the UK, and India, which have issued travel warnings for Bangladesh. The country has been grappling with the aftermath of recent violence that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and the ousting of the government.
“I find it really hard to see a cricket event going on over there at the moment and taking resources away from a country that is really struggling,” Healy said. “They’re needing everyone they can possibly get in there helping people that are dying.”
Healy emphasized that her concerns are based on humanitarian grounds rather than safety issues. Australia toured Bangladesh earlier this year and played six matches without incident. However, she believes that hosting a major sporting event at this time would be insensitive.
“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 said. “But I’ll leave it to the ICC to work out.”
Allrounder Sophie Molineux confirmed that players have been kept informed about the situation and trust the ICC to make the right decision.
Australia will name their World Cup squad next Monday, and Healy is confident they will be able to adapt to any host country. They gained valuable experience during their tour of Bangladesh earlier this year.
“I feel like we’re so well balanced in the…players that we get to choose from, wherever the World Cup gets put, I think we’re going to have the right squad to take it on,” Healy said.
The World Cup squad will also play three T20Is against New Zealand in September as preparation for the tournament.
