18 women cricketers join World Cup Qualifier camp

18 women cricketers have joined the final preparation camp at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier, scheduled to start from November 21 in Zimbabwe.

Towhid Mahmud, in charge of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s Women’s wing, told the Business Post that out of the 18 cricketers who reported for the final preparation camp, three will be dropped in the final selection.

“We have called up 18 players. Out of them, a 15-member team will be formed for the tour of Zimbabwe and the World Cup Qualifier. I can’t tell the exact date when the selection will be finalised as the BCB President is not in the country. Once he comes back, the final squad will be ready,” he said.

The women cricketers will be able to play an international series after almost 18 months when they will face hosts Zimbabwe in a three-match One-day international series before the World Cup Qualifier.

Bangladesh Women’s team’s last international appearance was in the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, where they lost all four matches.

The World Cup Qualifier is a very important tournament for women’s cricket in Bangladesh as it could open an avenue for more international matches.

If Bangladesh can hold a spot among the top five of this 10-team qualifier tournament, they will be placed in the ICC Women’s Championship, a two-year-long competition like the ICC One-day Super League or ICC Test Championship, where a team gets to play a certain number of matches.

Bangladesh women’s team will leave Dhaka for Zimbabwe on November 5, said Towhid.