Jhenaidah’s Juwairiya Ferdous Joyeeta became the district’s first female cricketer to earn a place in the Bangladesh National Women’s Cricket Team, officials confirmed on Sunday, as she joined the national training camp in Dhaka on Monday to begin her journey.
Joyeeta, an opening batter and wicketkeeper currently playing for Bashundhara Club, grew up in the Kanchannagar area of Jhenaidah town. She is the daughter of KM Selim Reza and Suraiya Begum, a well-known sports organiser and physical education teacher at Fajar Ali Girls’ School and College.
She is now a third-year student of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Dhaka. She credited her mother for her success. “The biggest role behind my becoming a cricketer and getting selected for the national team is my mother’s. I seek everyone’s prayers so I can make my parents, my district and my country proud,” she said.
A former cricketer herself, her mother, Suraiya, has long worked to promote girls’ participation in sports in the district. Speaking emotionally about her daughter’s achievement, she said, “I encouraged Joyeeta to play cricket from childhood. I took her to training centres, brought her home myself, and later admitted her to BKSP. Finally, my daughter has been called to the national team. I want her to wear the red-green jersey and bring pride to Jhenaidah and Bangladesh.”
She added that with proper guidance at the camp, Joyeeta could become “an asset to the team”.
Jaya Rani Chanda, principal of Fajar Ali Girls’ School and College, said, “The feeling that a student from our institution will play for the national team is extraordinary. It is wonderful to think she will represent Jhenaidah nationwide and Bangladesh on the world stage.”
