ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020: Bangladesh Women fixtures, key players, squad, prediction

They might not have qualified directly for the T20 World Cup, but Bangladesh strolled through the Qualifiers, to the extent that no team managed to reach even three figures against them. Even in the final they restricted Thailand Women – who also made it to the big tournament – to 60/7.

Unfortunately, they are pitted here in the “Group of Death”, one that includes Australia, India, and New Zealand, all of whom are in the top four in ICC rankings. While they have beaten India twice, they have lost to them 9 times; and they are yet to face the other two. However, they do have a 2-3 record against Sri Lanka, the fifth team in the group, against whom they will be optimistic about a win.

The other aspect that may go against them is their lack of exposure in these conditions. Even if one checks other major hosting countries, they have a record of 0-6 in South Africa and 0-4 in West Indies.

While they boast of a potent bowling attack, their bowlers have thrived mostly on slow subcontinent pitches. Even if they can stem the flow of runs, it is unlikely that their batters will do anything major on hard Australian pitches. None of their batters have a career strike rate in excess of 100.

Realistically, thus, Bangladesh’s best hopes lie in the Sri Lanka match. A win may work wonders for him.

Key players

Salma Khatun: A canny off-spinner, the Bangladesh captain has conceded a mere 4.74 an over across a 70-match career. Add to that her ability to find the boundary down the order, and one may figure out why she is considered a formidable force.

Jahanara Alam: Jahanara gained attention with her searing pace during the Women’s T20 Challenger in India last year. A stalwart of the side, her ability to generate bounce will come handy on Australian pitches.

Fargana Hoque: Bangladesh’s premier batter is just 51 short of becoming the first from the country to reach 1,000 T20I runs. To emphasise on how crucial Fargana has been, it should suffice to mention that none of her teammates has even 750.

Squad: Salma Khatun (c), Rumana Ahmed (vc), Shamima Sultana (wk), Jahanara Alam, Murshida Khatun, Ayasha Rahman, Nigar Sultana, Sanjida Islam, Khadija Tul Kubra, Panna Ghosh, Fargana Hoque, Nahida Akter, Fahima Khatun, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary.

Fixtures

February 24: vs India at WACA, Perth
February 27: vs Australia at Manuka Oval, Canberra
February 29: vs New Zealand at Junction Oval, Melbourne
March 2: vs Sri Lanka at Junction Oval, Melbourne

Prediction

They may are strong enough to upset Sri Lanka Women. If they do that, they may finish fourth in the group. A top four slot, however, is almost certainly ruled out.