Women’s World Cup news: Bangladesh skipper relishes tournament debut

Bangladesh skipper Niger Sultana says that the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is a huge opportunity for her side to show their quality.

Sultana is honoured to lead the side in their very first 50-over World Cup.

Bangladesh are also set to play their first ODIs against women’s cricket powerhouses England, Australia and New Zealand.

“Playing in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup is a long-awaited dream come true for all of us,” Sultana wrote in her pre-tournament ICC Media Zone column.

“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.”

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Sultana feels the weight of expectation on her shoulders but sees this World Cup as an opportunity to give women’s cricket in Bangladesh a shot in the arm.

“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.

“Bangladesh is a