Cricket

Bangladesh's Women's T20 World Cup squad for 2024 has undergone significant changes, with five players dropped and five new faces added. The most notable omission is experienced allrounder Rumana Ahmed, who has been replaced by uncapped top-order batter Taj Nehar.The recall of Sobhana Mostary, Shathi Rani, Fahima Khatun, and Disha Biswas adds experience and depth to the squad. Fahima, a veteran legspinner, has played in five T20 World Cups, while Rani, an opening batter, was the leading run-scorer in the recent Women's National Cricket League (NCL) T20 competition.Rumana's exclusion is attributed to her lack of aggressive batting in recent matches. Chief selector Sajjad Ahmed explained that the team needs batters who can score quickly in the T20 format.Mostary's selection, despite her recent struggles, is due to the lack of options at the No. 3 position. "She is a prospect, but she hasn't performed up to the mark," said Sajjad. "We don't have a lot of options at No. 3."The other players dropped from the squad are Rubya Haider, Shorifa Khatun, Sabikun Nahar, and Ishma Tanjim.Bangladesh's T20 World Cup campaign begins on October 3 against Scotland. The team will be hoping to improve on their performance in the 2023 edition, where they failed to progress beyond the group stage.

Bangladesh's women's cricket team has recalled experienced duo Rumana Ahmed and Jahanara Alam for the upcoming Women's Asia Cup, scheduled to begin next month. The decision comes after Bangladesh suffered consecutive T20I series defeats to Australia (3-0) and India (5-0).Rumana, an all-rounder, and Jahanara, a seamer, have played 134 and 130 internationals, respectively. However, they had been omitted from the squad for over a year as the selectors focused on building a younger team.Their impressive performances in the Dhaka Premier Division Women's Cricket League (DPDWCL) have prompted their recall. Jahanara emerged as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 25 scalps in nine matches, while Rumana claimed 17 wickets."Rumana and Jahanara were out of the team for 12 months. We have to keep in mind that there is very little training facilities for our female cricketers, so it is to their credit that they held on to their fitness," said women's chief selector Sajjad Ahmed. "They performed very well in the Premier League. It is a good news for us that we can get their experience in our squad, which allows us to have a balanced squad."The squad also includes call-ups for opener Ishma Tanjim and left-arm spinner Sabikun Nahar. Tanjim is known for her free-flowing batting style and high strike rate, while Nahar is expected to provide support to Nahida Akter in the spin department.Bangladesh have left out Habiba Islam, Fahima Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, and Fariha Trisna from the team that played against India in May."I think we have a great prospect in the Asia Cup this year," said Sajjad. "We open the tournament against Sri Lanka. If we win that game, we have a great chance of playing in the semi-final."Bangladesh will face Sri Lanka on July 20, followed by matches against Thailand and Malaysia on July 22 and 24, respectively.