'A challenge to change history'

Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana said on Sunday that the team is embracing the challenge of changing history as they prepare for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup in England, report agencies.

Bangladesh have managed only three wins from 25 matches in the global T20 event. Their victories came against Sri Lanka and Ireland in the 2014 edition before they endured a long winless run, which finally ended with a win over Scotland in the 2024 tournament.

"We were coming from a long winless road (in the T20 World Cup)," Nigar told reporters in the pre-tournament presser at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the city. "But I am not seeing this as a pressure. Rather I am taking this as a challenge to change history," she said.

"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. "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."

Nigar also said she is not concerned about having only two frontline pacers in the squad - Marufa Akter and Fariha Trisna Islam - as she believes Ritu Moni can effectively fill the role of a third seam-bowling option.

"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," she said.

"Marufa is consistently performing well for the team and Trisna is almost proven. I saw her performance in the last series and in the one or two matches where she got the opportunity she made her mark. So more or less we are taking those two pacers who are ready to play. It's high time we maintain these two cricketers and make sure that they are available for the World Cup," she added.

Nigar further stated that she is fully fit and eager to play despite speculation surrounding her fitness, which had earlier prompted her to be selective about playing domestic cricket. Nigar skipped the last edition of the National Cricket League (NCL) to focus on fitness while managing a long-standing injury.

"I don't know why this question is always coming up. Let me tell you the truth, I dont have a ligament in my right thumb as it was torn so I have been playing for so many years. Did anyone know about it? I am hundred percent fit and I have been selected in the World Cup team. And the most important thing is that every cricketer carries some kind of niggles and no one in the world can say they don't have any injury and everyone plays by managing those issues and we are at the same place and there are few small things that can be managed and I am doing that and it won't have any effect on the ground," she added.

The tournament is set to commence in England on June 12.