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World Cup is a long-awaited dream for us: Joti


By ICC
Published : 17 Feb 2022 09:28 PM

Bangladesh women team’s ODI captain Nigar Sultana Joty wrote in a column for the International Cricket Council (ICC) ahead of their maiden ODI world cup campaign as she said “Playing in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is a long-awaited dream come true for all of us.”

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 will be held in New Zealand in March and April of this year. Not only will for Bangladesh’s first appearance in an ODI World Cup, but it will also be the Tigresses' first journey to New Zealand, which has traditionally been difficult for their male counterparts.

“We have played three T20 World Cups but have never played an ODI one, so we are very excited and very eager to perform on the biggest stage. We want to make the most of this opportunity and make it count.”

“We have never played against England, Australia or New Zealand in ODIs, so it will be a new experience. We have followed them on the TV and the internet as we knew that someday we would play against them, and our analysts have given us information about their strengths and weaknesses to help us prepare,” Joty stated.

The skipper went on to reflect on the pivotal point in their journey and how their image evolved in the country. “Generally, the outlook of Bangladesh cricket changed after our Asia Cup win in 2018. People are showing more interest now because they know the Bangladesh women's team exists - before that, some people may not even have known that a Bangladesh women's team existed.

“Now, people are showing interest and they want to know where and how we're going to play. The media is showing interest and when we qualified for the World Cup, the whole nation was very happy – you could see that through the reception on social media.”

Under Joty’s direction, women’s cricket in Bangladesh has made significant progress in 2021. The 24-year-old is well aware of the looming deadline.

“Bangladesh is a cricket-loving nation and now they are also there for the women’s team. This brings some pressure but it’s good pressure, as we feel a desire to do well for them as well.

“This competition is a huge opportunity for us because we can show we have potential and we are improving as a team,” wrote the skipper.