Bangladesh women have a busy schedule as teams ahead of hosting the World T20 in September this year. After hosting Australia for the first time ever, the Tigresses are set to host India as well. The 5-match Women's T20I series between Bangladesh and India is scheduled to embark on the 28th of April at Sylhet. This series promises to be a belter after a thrilling outing of these two sides last July. Let’s take a look at all the details of this series

Fixtures of BAN vs IND Women's T20I Series 2024

Table: Schedules of the 2024 Bangladesh vs India Women T20 Series

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Bangladesh vs India Women’s H2H T20I Records

Table: Head to Head records between Bangladesh and India Women's Team in T20I format

India largely dominated this fixture over the years. Two of the three wins by Bangladesh women came at the 2018 Asia Cup in which they were the champions making it the only silverware of Bangladesh women's team. The other win came from the last time these two met in July, 2023. Bangladesh won the last game of the series while India clinched the 3-match series that time.

Bangladesh Squad in the 2024 BAN vs IND Wome's T20I Series

Table: List of Players in the Bangladesh Team

14-year-old Habiba Islam got her first call for the national team and might become the 2nd youngest women player to play for Bangladesh after Rabeya Khan. Bangladesh made two changes in their squad. Sumaiya Akter and Farzana Akter miss out this time. They are replaced by Rubya Haider and Habiba Islam.

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Indian Squad in the 2024 BAN vs IND Wome's T20I Series

Table: List of Players in the India Team

Sajeevan Sajana has earned her maiden call-up for India after a good WPL campaign. Asha Sobhana also earned her maiden call-up to the India women's team in this series after a brilliant WPL campaign, where she became the 2nd highest wicket-taker of the tournament, for RCB in WPL 2024. Jemimah Rodrigues is a notable miss for them. 

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Players to Watch in Bangladesh Squad in the Women's T20I Series Against India

Nahida Akter 

Nahida Akter is one of the most in-form players for Bangladesh right now. She became the first from the Bangladesh women’s team to become ICC Player of the month in November 2023. Additionally,  she claimed 15 wickets in her last 9 matches with a strike rate of 13.46. She slowly has made herself the biggest wicket-taking bowler for Bangladesh.

Nahida Akter is currently the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in T20Is. Standing at 91, she’s only 9 wickets away from becoming the first Bangladeshi female player and the 13th female player ever to acquire 100 wickets in Women’s T20I. Bangladesh would hope for her to achieve that milestone in this upcoming series against India. Nonetheless, she might be the most influential factor to guide Bangladesh towards victory. 

Nigar Sultana

The skipper will have a big role to play in this series. She is one of the most consistent and standout performers of the team. She averages 30+ in her last 10 games for the Bangladesh team with a strike rate of almost 90. She can also play a big role for the team as a wicket-keeper. Bangladesh will largely depend on her batting, keeping, and captaincy to get a positive result from the series.

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Fahima Khatun

Fahima Khatun is another vastly experienced campaigner on the team. She is known for being the first-ever female cricketer for Bangladesh to bag a hat-trick. She is only a couple of wickets away from reaching the milestone of becoming only the 5th bowler to take 50 wickets for Bangladesh in T20Is. 

This series against India might be her opportunity to achieve them. She also plays a crucial role with the bat in the lower middle order. Her economical spells in the death overs have come in handy for Bangladesh over time. Therefore, she is expected to marshall all her experience in driving Bangladesh towards victory.

Key Players in India Squad in the BAN vs IND Wome's T20I Series 2024

Smriti Mandhana

The dashing opener and the current no.4 in the world ranking pose the biggest threat from India. Her quick-fire starts have been the base for many wins and it is not supposed to be any different this time. She scored 251 runs in the last 10 games with a strike rate of 102. She also guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to their 1st ever WPL title being the 4th highest run-scorer of the tournament. 

With over 3000 runs, she is currently the 6th highest run-scorer in WT20I and she can jump to the 3rd position. A player of her caliber might feel 5 matches are enough for her to get to this record. India would also want her to be on song from the very first delivery of the series.

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Shafali Verma

Smriti Mandhana’s opening partner Shafali Varma can also decide games by herself. She scored 253 runs in her last 10 outings for India with a strike rate of a massive 122. She also played a knock of 64(44) in India’s latest win over Australia in January. She had a fantastic WPL 2024 campaign being the 3rd highest run scorer with 309 runs. India’s batting tone largely depends on her and she often leads India to glory. The tour of Bangladesh is not supposed to be any different either. 

Deepti Sharma

The current no.3 bowler of the world can be crucial for India on this tour. She captured 11 wickets in her last 10 games. She is also the only Indian bowler to achieve 100 wickets in WT20I to date. Her off-spin should test Bangladesh to the limits in Sylhet. For the last few campaigns, she has been the main strike bowler and the wicket-taker of the team. Even though India currently has a talented core of bowlers, the experience of Deepti can always be fruitful for them. 

Final Words 

According to statistics, the Indian Women’s Cricket Team dominated over Bangladesh. The latest series against Australia doesn’t help Bangladesh’s confidence much. Therefore, India is going to the series as the favorite. However, Bangladesh is always a difficult opponent at home which makes this 2024 BAN vs IND Women's T20I series a highly anticipated one.

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