Dhaka: Bangladesh Women’s team is confident of making a direct entry to the ICC World Cup despite knowing that the equation is quite tough for them. To ensure a direct entry to the World Cup, to be held in India next year, the Tigresses would have to win all of their six remaining matches in the ICC Women’s ODI Super League. These include three home matches against Ireland and three away matches against the West Indies.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Habibul Bashar, the head of BCB’s Women’s Wing, expressed optimism during a press conference today where the title sponsor for the Bangladesh-Ireland series was announced. The series will be sponsored by Senora, powered by Ruchi. ‘We have six matches at hands before the World Cup—three against Ireland and three against West Indies. We know the equation is tough but playing World Cup is everyone’s dream. So we’ll try our best to do well,’ Bashar said.
The Irish Women’s team will arrive in Dhaka on November 22 for three ODIs and as many T20Is as part
of the ICC FTP programme. The three ODIs will be played in Mirpur on November 27, November 30 and December 2, while the T20Is will take place in Sylhet on December 5, 7 and 9. Bashar emphasized that the team will have some advantage starting from home, and the immediate focus will be on winning the three matches against Ireland.
Bashar noted that the players are training intensively for the series and their improvement is evident. ‘We have already started our preparation for the series. The girls have been playing consistently. In this period we have made significant progress. Girls are quite upbeat now,’ he said. As the former Bangladesh captain, Bashar admitted there will be some pressure with the chances to qualify for the World Cup looming, but he stated that the players are confident in overcoming it.
‘There will be pressure to perform, which is natural because we know what we need to do for a direct qualification,’ he said. ‘Playing World Cup is our dream, so we’ll try our best. Since we’re playing at
home, we’re hopeful for positive results.’