Bangladesh’s experienced opener Fargana Haque Pinky has been officially left out of the national women’s team’s plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in England. The tournament is scheduled to begin in June, and the selectors have made clear that the veteran batter is not part of their vision going forward.
BCB’s women’s wing chief selector Sazzad Ahmed confirmed this after Bangladesh named their squad for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka at home. “Pinky is not there in our upcoming T20 World Cup plan, so she is not there in the squad against Sri Lanka,” Sazzad told Cricbuzz.
The squad was announced just as the women’s ODI series against Sri Lanka concluded in Rajshahi, which the visitors won 2-1.
Sarmin Sultana Gets First T20I Call-Up
In Fargana’s place, the selectors have handed a maiden T20I call-up to 32-year-old opener Sarmin Sultana. The decision comes as Bangladesh look to fix a persistent problem at the top of their batting order, where dot balls have been costing the team crucial runs in the powerplay.
Sarmin recently returned to the ODI side after a gap of nearly seven years. Her return to the ODI squad did not produce strong numbers — she scored just 42 runs across three innings in the ODI series against Sri Lanka — but the selectors are backing her aggressive style of play over her recent statistics.
“With the resources I have at the moment, she can score runs quickly as she is an aggressive batter by nature,” Sazzad said. “We at times end up playing a lot of dot balls, so we are trying to score some runs at the top.”
Sarmin had previously shown form in the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars in February, where she scored 93 runs in five matches. She also contributed 126 runs in seven innings in the Rajshahi National Cricket League’s T20 format.
Bangladesh’s Batting Needs a Boost Before England
The broader concern for Bangladesh heading into the T20 World Cup is their batting depth. Captain Nigar Sultana, Sobhana Mostary, and Sharmin Akter Supta are expected to carry the bulk of the batting responsibility, as they did during the ODI series.
The T20I series against Sri Lanka is likely Bangladesh’s final assignment before they fly to England. They qualified for the World Cup after winning all seven games in the T20 World Cup qualifier held in Nepal earlier this year.
The selectors are clearly using these three home matches to finalise their opening combination. With Sarmin coming in as a like-for-like aggressive option at the top, the team management is hoping she can give them the fast starts they have lacked.
The bowling unit remains relatively settled, with Marufa Akter expected to lead the attack. Left-arm seamer Fariha Trisna could play a key role on the Sylhet pitches, which tend to offer more pace and bounce. Nahida Akter will lead the spinners, supported by Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, and Fahima Khatun.
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Series Schedule
The three T20Is against Sri Lanka will all be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. The first match is on April 28, followed by games on April 30 and May 2. All matches begin at 1:30 PM local time.
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