Among all the women cricketers, Shorna Akter was the fastest runner at the BCB National Cricket Academy during a week-long fitness camp that began on Thursday. Even in the plyometrics sessions she was the most energetic, reflecting the same intensity she shows in her batting despite not having the typical power hitter’s physique.
Bangladesh were scheduled to tour India for two white-ball series featuring three ODIs and three T20Is, but the tour has been postponed by the BCCI as they await government clearance. With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier approaching next February, the BCB plans to stage the BCL to give the women’s team crucial game time. The tournament is set to begin on December 15 in the T20 format.
After finishing her running session, Shorna spoke to reporters at the academy premises. Discussing the camp, she said, “We are undergoing fitness training. We had running in the morning and plyometrics in the afternoon. The camp has been arranged ahead of the BCL.”
With the World Cup Qualifier in sight, Shorna and her teammates are counting on the upcoming BCL. “Ahead of the World Cup, our fitness camp started yesterday and today. It will continue for seven days. Then we report on the 12th. You already know the BCL starts on the 15th,” she said.
Last season’s Women’s NCL was tightly packed, and the new BCL edition is also expected to conclude within 13 days. Four teams will take part in the Rajshahi-hosted tournament. Asked about the congested schedule, Shorna said they simply have to adapt.
“The BCL reporting is on the 12th, the matches begin on the 27th and then we return to Dhaka,” she said. “We are athletes. Since we are here to play, we have to play. That is how it is.”
In the last Women’s ODI World Cup, Shorna emerged as one of Bangladesh’s standout performers. The right-hander struck Bangladesh’s fastest ODI fifty, an unbeaten 51 off 35 balls against South Africa, hitting three sixes, the most by a Bangladeshi batter in a World Cup innings.
Looking back on her campaign, during which she also claimed six wickets with her leg spin despite Bangladesh exiting in the first round, she said, “Alhamdulillah, it went very well. Maybe we could not execute as we had prepared. You saw how three of the matches slipped away from us. The match we should have won, we lost. Personally, I would say I played well in one match, against South Africa. And when my captain handed me the ball, I tried to give my best.”
