Christchurch, Feb 17 Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana has expressed that the upcoming Women's Cricket World Cup is a huge opportunity for her side. She added that featuring in the tournament is a dream come true for her side. The upcoming mega event is Bangladesh's first appearance in the 50-over World Cups and also their maiden visit to New Zealand.
"This competition is a huge opportunity for us because we can show we have potential and we are improving as a team. If we do well here, more teams will be interested in playing against us, more international cricket will come to the country and the Bangladesh Cricket Board will try to increase domestic matches as well," wrote Nigar in her column for the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday.
Bangladesh, who made the cut for the tournament based on their ICC Rankings, will face South Africa in their tournament opener at the University Oval in Dunedin.
"Playing in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is a long-awaited dream come true for all of us. 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," stated Nigar.
Nigar admitted that playing against teams like defending champions England, hosts New Zealand and a powerful Australia side will be a different experience altogether.
"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."
Nigar, the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, highlighted the players to watch out for from the Bangladesh side. "Of our current squad, openers Murshida Khatun and Sharmin Akhter Supta played well in the qualifiers and are in very good touch. Rumana Ahmed has always been there when our team needed her and Salma Khatun is one of the best all-rounders in the world."
"In the bowling attack, we have added a fast young bowler, Suraiya Azmin, who the cricket world hasn't seen very much of yet, and Fariha Trisna offers a left-arm option. We have three former captains Salma, Rumana and Jahanara Alam in our team, who are helping me a lot and I'm taking on board all their advice."
Nigar signed off by saying that Bangladesh doing well will be a monumental moment for the women's team.
"On a personal level, it is a great opportunity for me to lead the team into our first-ever World Cup. If we could do well here, it's going to be a great historical moment for all of us."
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