The upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 is shaping up to be a big opportunity for Bangladesh to make their mark.
Despite playing four T20 World Cups, they could not win a match in the last three. Now they are looking to break the losing streak.
The Tigresses have been preparing for the tournament for the past couple of months, which includes a tour of New Zealand where they played ODI and T20 matches.
While the team did not perform their best, there were some strong individual performances. The team focused on their batting, an area in which they have been struggling for a while.
Now that Bangladesh have already reached South Africa, they are focusing on getting used to the conditions and playing practice matches. They played in South Africa twice before.
On a personal level, players are excited to represent their country at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup for the fourth time. They have seen a lot of changes in the game since their first World Cup in 2016.
As a team, they want to inspire the next generation of women cricketers back home and the best way to do that is by winning matches.
The team's main strength is their unity and they are well balanced, with a mixture of experienced players and talented young ones.
Read more: ICC 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup: Bangladesh’s Squad, Full Fixtures
Salma Khatun is an experienced all-rounder. Nahida Akter and Jahanara Alam are very important to the team's bowling attack, and they are excited to see their young superstar Marufa Akter. Marufa made her senior debut in the recent New Zealand series and has been bowling brilliantly. She is one of three players in Bangladesh's current U19 team who got selected for the T20 World Cup in South Africa.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play four matches in the Group A of the World Cup. Their first match is on February 12 against Sri Lanka at Newlands in Cape Town.The Tigresses will play their second match on February 14 against Australia at St George's Park in Gqeberha. On February 17, they will face New Zealand at Newlands in Cape Town. And finally, on February 21, they will play against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town.
Read more: Bangladesh women's team to play T20 World Cup qualifiers in UAE