Former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) women's wing head Habibul Bashar feels that Bangladesh should finish in the top two of the upcoming qualifying event for the ICC Women's ODI World Cup in Pakistan, scheduled on April 9-19, and progress to the main event in India later this year.

"I think we are a good side in the one-day format. I think the West Indies will probably be our biggest opponent in the tournament. Pakistan also isn't a bad team. But I think we should beat Pakistan. I think Bangladesh should qualify," the former Bangladesh skipper, who recently joined BCB's game development unit, told The Daily Star yesterday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday announced the fixture of the six-team event from which the top two sides will join hosts India and five other teams – Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa – in the main event.

Bangladesh will begin their campaign against Thailand on April 10 before facing Ireland and Scotland on April 13 and 15 respectively. However, the Tigresses' main challenge will be against West Indies and Pakistan whom they will face on April 17 and 19 respectively.

Bashar feels that handling pressure will be key for Bangladesh in the qualifying event.

"The team has been playing together for a long time. I don't think we should overthink and focus only on the tournament. How much we can handle the pressure will be crucial," he added.

The women's team will start their preparation for the qualifying event on March 22 in Mirpur. They will be leaving for Lahore on April 3 where they will also play two warm-up matches against Scotland and Ireland on April 5 and 7 respectively.