Bangladesh Women’s National Cricket Team captain, Nigar Sultana Joty, expressed her disappointment at missing out on the direct qualification for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. However, she remains determined to dominate the qualifier tournament and secure a spot in the World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Pakistan in April 2025.

Before that, the cricketers will have a busy schedule in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), which begins on February 19. Nigar is hopeful that the players will use this 50-over tournament to fine-tune their skills ahead of the big event.

“It will definitely help us,” Nigar told the Daily Sun when asked about the matter.

“Those who will potentially represent Bangladesh in the qualifiers, we told them to follow the process of playing international ODIs during the Premier League since we have a quick turnaround right after the DPL,” she added.

“We are playing DPL, but that doesn’t mean we will change our tempo. We have to maintain a good strike rate. We need to develop the habit of playing positive cricket so that we don’t feel any pressure of adjustment in the qualifiers,” she explained.

Bangladesh needed to beat the West Indies in their last meeting to qualify directly for the World Cup. But despite their best efforts, Nigar’s team couldn’t overcome the challenge.

“When we won the second match against the Windies, I thought we would be okay since we overcame a big challenge by winning that game. That was a difficult match, and we won it. But in the third outing, our batters needed to play a bit more freely to get the result. It was in our destiny. We have to take future opportunities to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” she said.

Nigar admitted that the qualifying rounds bring extra pressure, which, as players, they must deal with.

“Playing the qualifiers is pressure,” she said.

“If you lose, you are out. Imagine what would happen to us if that were the case. When you are in the World Cup, starting from the Board to the public, everyone treats you differently. So, it’s a pressure, and we are taking it seriously. I am talking to the players about it. As for the opponents, we play them regularly and have the experience of dominating them. We need to do well in this DPL so that our batters go there with solid confidence,” she added.

Injured Nahida – Marufa

Bangladesh lost two of their key bowlers at the end of the West Indies tour – Nahida Akter and Marufa Akter. The BCB has taken the initiative to rule both of them out of the DPL, prioritizing the national team’s needs.

“We are giving them time. They are not playing in this DPL so that they can be ready for the ultimate challenge. Both are in the rehab process, and they are very vital for us. I know for a fact that they are being taken care of every day,” Nigar concluded.