Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
Bangladesh women’s team pacer Jahanara Alam said on Tuesday that they will be looking to earn as many points as possible during their forthcoming three-match one-day international series against their Sri Lankan counterparts.
Bangladesh are currently in Colombo to take part in three ODIs and as many T20Is.
The tour will start with the 50-over series, and the matches will be played on April 29, May 2, and 4, respectively, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo. The ODI series is also part of the ongoing ICC Women’s Championship.
Later, Bangladesh will face the hosts in a three-match T20I series scheduled for May 9, 11, and 12 at the SSC Ground in Colombo.
Bangladesh have so far played three matches in the ongoing 10-team ICC Women’s Championship, from which the top five teams will directly qualify for the next World Cup in India in 2025, and they have earned two points from two washed out matches against New Zealand.
Although Bangladesh don’t have a good record against Sri Lanka (they lost the only ODI and won only two out of nine T20Is), Jahanara vowed to give their best in the series.
‘It will be great for us if we can earn some points from this series. It will play a good role in the World Cup qualification,’ Jahanara told reporters prior to their departure for Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
‘We definitely don’t want to play qualifiers any more. We played a series in New Zealand, and the second series will be held in Sri Lanka. We will be eyeing to clinch as many points as possible,’ she said, adding that they had good preparation in Khulna for the series.
‘The condition will favour the hosts. We know that the weather in Sri Lanka is currently very hot. Still, I don’t think it will be a fact for us. They might try to make batting tracks. Hopefully, it won’t be tough for us,’ she said.
‘We had a good preparation in Khulna. I think it will be a fighting series. Hopefully, we will be able to return with good results.’
Meanwhile, batter Fargana Hoque Pinky feels that they can beat Sri Lanka if they follow and execute their plans properly.
‘If we can play according to process and plan, I don’t think it will be difficult for us to beat Sri Lanka,’ said Fargana, adding that they will miss the services of senior campaigners — Salma Khatun and Rumana Ahmed.
Bangladesh have rested the experienced duo for the Sri Lanka series, while pacer Marufa Akter, who was part of the last ICC Women’s T20 World Cup squad in South Africa, wasn’t included as well as she will be appearing in the Secondary School Certificate exam later this month.
‘The gap of not having Rumana and Salma apu won’t go away within a day or a series. Although they aren’t here, they assured us of their support in the series through phone calls,’ she said.
‘Most of the members of the team are mature enough. It’s show time for them. If they can execute that, I think it will be good for us,’ she concluded.