A stride in the right direction

Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Since acquiring the ODI status and stepping into the international scene in 2011, Bangladesh women’s team had their crowning achievement with the 2018 Asia Cup victory.

To still be the only team to break India’s monopoly in the prestigious continental event remains a monumental feat, also considering that the men’s team are yet to taste such success. 

Although Bangladesh women found stable ground, they were found wanting in the three subsequent T20 World Cups — as evidenced by their winless streak in the marquee events.

Their maiden appearance at the ODI World Cup last year, however, brought a sense of renewed promise. A win against Pakistan and two closely contested affairs over two big guns — West Indies and South Africa — allowed the Tigresses to make their presence felt at the global stage.

However, with the Asia Cup triumph far in the past, the women cricketers longed to come up with a breakthrough performance. The recently concluded white-ball series against India at home presented a glorious opportunity for the Tigresses to prove a point or two in front of their fans.

Across three T20Is and as many ODIs, there were a lot of boxes ticked in Bangladesh women’s favour, ones that have the necessary advertising ingredients to rally up the cricket-crazy fans who rarely fail to show up in numbers whenever the men’s team play an international match.

In their first-ever home series, the Tigresses showed they can fight neck and neck with India, who were not meant to be intimidated by the playing conditions here. Surpassing expectations of a one-off victory indicated the women in red and green have come of age.

Overall, Bangladesh’s spirited performance, their attitude in victory and defeat was in stark contrast to how India captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, tainted the spirit of the game with her antics in the final fixture that culminated in a thrilling tie. 

The icing on the cake for Bangladesh arrived with stellar individual displays. In pacer Marufa Akter, whose pumping action complements her inspirational backstory, the country has found another superstar in the making. A clip of her boundary-saving effort in the field had gone viral, and a brilliantly executed in-swinger to bowl out India opener, Priya Punia, in the second ODI had captured the imagination of audiences.

Moreover, the country’s leading international run-scorer, Fargana Haque Pinky, entered the record books by being the first Bangladeshi woman to score an ODI century. Marufa and Pinky – who alongside spinner Nahida Akter broke into the top 20’s in ICC rankings in their respective fields — had therefore made the impact needed to break some inertia of fan-following and media coverage. 

The Bangladesh captain aptly expressed the key takeaway from the series. “I think we have taken a respectable step forward after this series. There were many who didn’t know us, apart from one or two players. At least those people now recognise who Nahida, Pinky or Marufa are. So, I think this is an achievement since the people of Bangladesh now know who plays in the women’s team,” said Nigar Sultana Joty. 

The cricketers have played their cards to the best of their abilities and for the Tigresses, irrespective of whatever outcome may be in store in the foreseeable future, the stage is set for their next phase of evolution. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) can be presumed to be well aware of the to-dos in this regard: for starters, ensuring that the domestic circuit rolls on at the highest-possible level.

As the global women’s sport continues its successful march to a much-increased viewership and wage structure in place, it remains to be seen how long it takes before the cricketers see the gender pay gap eliminated and get to entertain a full house. In reality, however, the latter is a precursor to the former.