Nigar Sultana to lead Bangladesh women in T20I series against India

Dhaka [Bangladesh], July 5 (ANI): Bangladesh Cricket decided to leave out two big names from the squad from their upcoming three-match T20I series, as Nigar Sultana prepares to lead her country against the Indian women’s team later this month.

Jahanara Alam and Fargana Hoque, Bangladesh’s two key players are the two notable absentees, with the former being the second-highest scorer for Bangladesh in this format. Along with them, all-rounder Lata Mondal and left-arm pacer Fariha Trisna, have also been dropped.
Left-hand batter Rubya Haider has also been sidelined from the squad due to her knee injury.

Experienced allrounder Salma Khatun earned a recall to the side alongside batters Dilara Akter, Shathi Rani and 16-year-old Shorna Akter.

Nigar Sultana will also lead Bangladesh batting upfront while uncapped batter Shathi Rani could also open in one of the matches. The latter found a place in the national team after a strong domestic season.

With just two pacers — Marufa Akter and the uncapped Disha Biswas — picked, Bangladesh’s spin attack may have to carry the bowling load. The spin attack includes Salma, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Ritu Mondol, Sanjida Akter and Sultana Khatun.

The tour will kick off with a three-match T20I series and the first match will be played on July 9. The second and third matches will be played on July 11 and July 13 respectively.

After a two-day break, the three-match ODI series will kick off on July 16. The second and the third ODIs will be played on July 19 and July 22 respectively.

Bangladesh squad for India T20Is: Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Dilara Akter, Shathi Rani, Shamima Sultana, Sobhana Mostary, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Disha Biswas, Marufa Akter, Sanjida Akter Meghla, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Salma Khatun, Fahima Khatun

India’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, Uma Chetry (wk), Amanjot Kaur, S. Meghana, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Monica Patel, Rashi Kanojiya, Anusha Bareddy, Minnu Mani.