Jahanara Alam, Rumana Ahmed hoping to make experience count

As a stamp on most of the teams from the sub-continent, Bangladesh has a spin-heavy squad for the T20 World Cup 2020. As one of the few seamers in the side, Jahanara Alam is aware that she has her task cut out.

“I’m quite excited to play in Australia because I’ve heard the pitches can be very bouncy and I can get help from the wicket,” said Alam, who has used the ten-day camp in Australia to get equipped with the conditions.

“I swing the ball both ways and have some variations as well. I’m not going to leak runs and that is my role in the team. Our main strength as a team is our unity. We have been preparing ourselves for a long time and we are confident. This is our fourth World Cup. We are quite experienced now, although we are playing Australia and New Zealand for the first time.”

Alam has 55 T20I wickets, joint-second behind skipper Salma Khatun for Bangladesh. She has been a vital cog in their outfit for quite some time now. Bangladesh are the current Asia Cup winners and she hit the winning runs when they beat India to the title in 2018.

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Rumana Ahmed is another veteran in the Asian team’s squad, who also has 55 scalps in T20Is. She had been associated with Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League, training with the likes of Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Delissa Kimmince in 2017 through ICC’s Rookie Placement Program.

“It was a massive opportunity for me,” said Ahmed, who is coming back from a knee injury. “It was the first time I’d ever been to Australia and I learned so much from the experience. I learned how big teams and big players prepare for games. I took a lot from every training session and particularly the gym and fitness sessions. It was a great experience.”

Bangladesh’s first warm-up clash against Thailand on Sunday (February 16) was washed out. They next take on Pakistan in their final warm-up clash on Thursday (February 20).