Nigar Sultana 'really hurt' as Women's World Cup moves out of Bangladesh

Nigar Sultana, who is the captain of Bangladesh's women's team, expressed her disappointment after the Women's World Cup 2024, which was initially scheduled to be held in Bangladesh, was shifted to the UAE. This will now deprive Sultana and her team of the chance to play a global event in front of the passionate supporters at home.

Bangladesh has been going through tumultuous times in recent weeks owing to the socio-political tension in the country. Travel restrictions of several countries forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 from Bangladesh to the UAE.

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Sultana said that she had been in a state of sorrow for a couple of days as people tried to explain to her the reasons behind the switch in the venue. The wicketkeeper-batter noted that she along with her players were excited to represent their nation in front of their home crowd.

"For the last two days I was really sad and today I seemed a bit free because a lot of people tried to make me understand [the switch] in different ways," Nigar told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

"To be honest I was really hurt and that from the core of my heart. I had a lot of dreams and not only me it was the same for all the players because it is not only us who were waiting to play the World Cup in our country but along with us our family also waited for it, like our friends, fans or our close ones. They were preparing in a different ways for this World Cup. As a player what I feel is that I missed the chance of having the pride of playing the World Cup in front of the home crowd. We are deprived of earning that pride," she added.

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The marquee event will take place across the two venues in the UAE - Dubai and Sharjah - from October 3 to 20.