Bangladesh women’s national team have been going through a rough patch of form this year as they have lost all of the 11 international matches they have played – something they hope to change in the forthcoming Asia Cup 2024 in Sri Lanka.
The team held its final training in Dhaka on Monday as they will leave for Sri Lanka today, and will begin their campaign against the hosts in Dambulla on July 20.
In that match, Bangladesh will hope that they can secure their first win of the year as so far this year they have lost 3-0 to Australia in both one-day International and Twenty20 International series, which was then followed up by a 5-0 thrashing to India in a T20I series.
Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty was banking on good memories from when they won the 2018 Asia Cup – the only major trophy for Bangladesh across genders at senior level – to help them revitalise themselves ahead of the T20 World Cup, which Bangladesh will host later this year.
‘The Asia Cup is an emotional thing for women’s cricket in Bangladesh as winning it in 2018 brought forth a big revolution. This is a chance for us to test ourselves before the World Cup,’ Joty said at a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Monday.
‘We haven’t done well in the past two series, failing to win even one match. Then we had a long break and played domestic tournaments. Those who did well there have been picked. I saw everyone in good touch in the camp. We are looking forward to playing good cricket.’
While 2018 is a good memory for Joty & co, the next edition in 2022 – held in Sylhet – is a bitter one as they crashed out of the group stage.
Thus, this time around, the initial goal for them is to reach the final four.
‘We could not reach the semis of the last Asia Cup. So naturally, our initial goal is reaching the semis. For this, our first match is very important because we have not been doing well for a long time,’ Joty said.
