‘Girls upset’ but preparation for T20 WC in full swing

Women's wing head of Bangladesh Cricket Board Habibul Bashar insisted that even though the girls are upset about missing out on playing the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup on home soil, it won't hamper their preparation for the global tournament.

"Everyone has the desire to play World Cup on home soil. Most of the girls had the same dream. So, they are a bit upset about it. Of course, we will miss playing on home condition," Bashar told reporters in Mirpur on Thursday.

International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday that the ninth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup has been moved out of Bangladesh because of travel advisories from governments of a number of the participating teams due to the current situation in Bangladesh.

The tournament will now take place in the UAE with BCB continuing to host the event. The tournament will take place across two venues in the UAE -- Dubai and Sharjah -- from October 3 to 20.

Although the venue of the global meet has been changed, BCB is trying hard to give the girls adequate preparation before they compete against England, South Africa, West Indies, and Scotland in Group B of the marquee event.

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As part of the preparation, the cricketers reached Rajshahi on Thursday to feature in the 13th Women's National Cricket League 2024-25 where eight divisional teams will compete in the T20 format, beginning on Saturday.

"The preparation isn't being hampered much. We were taking preparation keeping the World Cup in mind. We made arrangements for one-to-one training for the girls. Our local coaches were there. The coaching staff are also here. The NCL is part of our preparation," Bashar said.

Apart from that, BCB is mulling to send the national team to Sri Lanka under the 'A' team banner following the WNCL before they leave for the UAE for the World Cup.

"The wickets in Rajshahi are good. We want girls to play on good and sporting wickets. The monsoon is going on but there is less rain in Rajshahi. We will also get two venues. We will have to finish the tournament in a fixed time. As this is going to be a part of our World Cup preparation, so we decided to hold the matches in Rajshahi.

"We will send our 'A' team to Sri Lanka after the league. That will also be our part of preparation…Those, who will be in our World Cup plan, we will make the 'A' team with them," he said.