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  

BNP on Wednesday greeted the Bangladesh national women's football team as the tigresses returned home from Nepal bringing great honour to the nation by clinching the SAFF Women's Championship title. ”Our girls have brought good news for our country after a long time. We're proud of it. They have returned home today (Wednesday).  We extend our warmest greetings to them,” said BNP Secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he also thanked the victorious Bangladesh women's team for achieving tremendous success for the country. “Our girls have brought great honour.”  “On behalf of my party and our Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, I extend my greetings and best wishes to them (footballers) and their families,” the BNP leader said.  On Monday, Bangladesh won the maiden SAFF Women’s Football Championship by beating hosts Nepal 3-1 in the final in Kathmandu. The champions reached the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 1:50pm. Read: SAFF Women's Champs: Girls bring glory to Bangladesh Bangladesh beat Maldives, Pakistan, India and Nepal on their way to the ultimate victory. Bangladesh scored 23 goals in the event and conceded only one in the final. Fakhrul said he watched an interview of a women footballer Swapna’s mother on television and got shocked hearing what she said about her family’s poor condition.   ”When she (Swapna's mother) was asked whether she could give her footballer daughter good food, eggs and milk? She replied I couldn’t even manage rice. From where would I give her eggs and milk? That is the real picture that we usually talk about,” he observed. Narrating the poor economic condition and hardships of Swapna's family, Fakhrul said this girl has overcome poverty and reached a position in the national women's football team. "We're proud of it."

Jatiya Party Chairman Ghulam Muhammed Quader on Friday congratulated Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team for getting Test status. “It’s a great achievement that Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team obtained the Test status,” he said in a congratulatory message sent to the media. GM Quader, also the deputy leader of the opposition in Parliament, greeted the coaches concerned and officials of the board as well. Besides, JP Secretary-General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu congratulated the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team. The International Cricket Council on Friday awarded Test status to the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team. Also read: Tigresses awarded Test status Along with the Tigresses, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe women’s teams were also awarded the status. In the ICC’s latest meeting, it was decided to award Test status to all women’s teams of the full-member nations of the ICC. With the inclusion of three new teams, the number of women’s Test teams rose to 13.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Friday awarded Test status to the Bangladesh Women's cricket team. Along with the Tigresses, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe women's teams were also awarded the Test status. It was decided in the latest meeting of ICC that Test status would be granted to all women's teams of the full-member nations of the ICC. Also read: Women cricketers join individual training programme Right after the decision was made public, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women's wing chairman Shafiul Alam Nadel said the Tigress might play their inaugural Test this year. "It's great that the ICC has decided to grant us the Test status," he told the media. "But it'll take some time to schedule our inaugural Test. But we hope to play our first Test this year." Also read: Bangladesh’s women cricketers on a roll Bangladesh all-rounder Rumana Ahmed said, "This is big news for the country. We are now a Test-playing nation in women's cricket. I believe getting the Test status will help Bangladesh women's cricket scale new heights," she said via a video message sent to the media from BCB. With the inclusion of three new teams, the number of women's Test teams has reached 13. The other Test-playing women's teams are – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Ireland, Sri Lanka, West Indies and the Netherlands. Read The most famous Bangladeshi female athletes of all time