The Bangladesh women’s cricket team will begin their final stretch of preparations for the ICC Women’s World Cup with a tri-series tournament starting today at the BKSP. The series, which includes two women’s teams — named Red and Green — and the Bangladesh Under-15 men’s team, will run until 28 August.
Each side will face the others twice in the 50-over format, with all matches taking place at the BKSP grounds. Following the series, the national squad will return to Dhaka for a final training camp before departing for India, where the World Cup is set to begin on 30 September.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had initially sought to organise international fixtures for the women’s team after their World Cup qualification in April. Talks were held with both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but scheduling conflicts meant no bilateral series could be arranged. With top sides also committed to their own preparatory series, the BCB instead turned to domestic alternatives.
In the absence of regular international competition, the tri-series is seen as a crucial part of the build-up. Earlier, during a camp in Sylhet in July, the women’s team played a series of practice matches against the Bangladesh Under-17 men’s side. The board has continued with a similar strategy by involving the U-15 boys for this current tournament.
Batting coach Nasiruddin Faruque Shajib, who has worked with the team periodically since 2021, believes this approach offers real value. “The [U-17 men’s team’s] bowling unit that we faced in Sylhet was quite quick. It reflected the standards of big international sides such as Australia and England,” he said.
“The conditions were good, the wickets had variety where we got batting friendly surfaces, wickets with grass and seaming conditions too along with spinning tracks,” he added.
Nasiruddin said the women’s side regularly posted scores of 230–250 against the U-17 attack, which he believes demonstrates mental and technical progress. “In difficult times, your mindset comes out. I feel it’s very stable and strong right now,” he said. “Since we averaged 240 against unknown quality opponents, I am hopeful.”
Reflecting on the team’s overall World Cup preparation, he remained optimistic. “We have seen players come up through the qualifiers. After that we also observed new players in the Emerging programme, where the girls played against a quality South Africa side. There was a conditioning camp in Dhaka, another conditioning camp in Cox’s Bazar and we also played matches in Sylhet. So, in general the preparations have been fruitful.”
Bangladesh made their Women’s World Cup debut in 2022 in New Zealand, where they won only one of their seven matches. Nasiruddin believes the team is in a stronger position this time. “We obviously expect better results and I believe execution would make the difference. I feel they are in a good flow at the moment,” he said.