‘A challenge to change history’ - Nigar Sultana confident of Bangladesh improving T20 World Cup record

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana has expressed confidence ahead of the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in England, stating that her side is determined to rewrite history after years of struggle in the tournament.

Bangladesh have registered just three victories in 25 matches in Women’s T20 World Cup history. Their first two wins came during the 2014 edition against Sri Lanka and Ireland, while their most recent triumph arrived in the 2024 tournament with a victory over Scotland, ending a prolonged winless streak.

Speaking during the pre-tournament press conference at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Nigar said the team is viewing the poor record as motivation rather than pressure.

“We were coming from a long winless road (in the T20 World Cup). But I am not seeing this as a pressure. Rather I am taking this as a challenge to change history,” Nigar told reporters in a pre-tournament press conference.

The Bangladesh skipper added that the victory against Scotland in the previous edition gave the side much-needed confidence, even though they failed to win any other matches in the tournament.

“Winning that match in Dubai in the last T20 World Cup gave us a great feeling, even though we couldn’t win the rest of our games,” she said.

Nigar also highlighted the improvement in the squad over the past year and backed the current group to deliver stronger performances on the global stage.

“However, since last year, I feel we have developed a much better team combination, and we need to increase our win count. In T20s, more players are stepping up now compared to before. We want to play better on the global stage and win more matches consistently,” she added.

The Bangladesh captain also defended the team selection despite concerns over carrying only two frontline pacers in English conditions. The squad features seamers Marufa Akhter and Fariha Islam, while all-rounder Ritu Moni is expected to provide additional pace-bowling support.

“There is a pace bowling allrounder (Ritu Moni) with two pacers and these days I am always facing this question why there are only two pacers in England. The reason behind it is that they (the two pacers) are continuously playing with the team for the last six months so we were thinking that we need to carry those cricketers who are ready to play in the World Cup,” Nigar explained.

The marquee T20 event will kick off on June 12 and will be hosted by England and Wales. Bangladesh are included in group A along with Australia, India, Netherlands, Pakistan, and South Africa.