SOBHANA MOSTARY EXCITED FOR FIRST TRIP TO ENGLAND AT ICC WOMEN'S T20 WORLD CUP
Media release
Sobhana Mostary is excited for a step into the unknown at this summer’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup after playing a key role in Bangladesh’s qualification.
Sobhana was named Player of the Tournament at the recent Qualifier in Nepal after a remarkably consistent competition with the bat.
She made at least 27 in each of her seven innings and ended as the tournament’s second-highest run scorer with 262 at an average of 52.40 as Bangladesh finished unbeaten and topped the table.
They will now head to England for the first time bidding to continue their momentum and Sobhana will be a key figure if they are to do.
“It is a proud and emotional moment for us and Bangladesh women’s cricket,” she said.
“It will be our first time travelling to England, so everything will be different. We are very happy and excited to travel. We worked very hard for this Qualifier and we will now plan for the next step.
“We have no experience playing in England but we played in Scotland in 2019, also in a Qualifier, so we gained some experience there.
“There are lots of big teams there but we are confident, our bowling and fielding is very good and our batting is strong now too. We can’t wait to play there.”
Bangladesh made their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup debut in 2014, a tournament they hosted, and have been ever-presents since.
Their victory over Scotland at the most recent instalment, in 2024, was their first in the competition for a decade but the batting group have been working hard on ensuring it is a different story this time around.
Sobhana, still just 23, impressed at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup last year, scoring half-centuries against both England and Australia, and will travel with confidence having located an ability to kick on from promising starts.
“I am quite satisfied with my performance,” she said. “I have played in this team now for the last five years and for a time, I got to 20 or 25 then got out.
“This is the first time I have achieved something like this consistency. I am happy and confident for going to England and hopefully I can keep this going.
“In the ODI World Cup, after reaching 30 or 40, I created momentum. Then in domestic cricket, I was consistent and managed to take that into the Qualifier. Every time I get to 30 or 40 now, I know how to get better and push on.”
Bangladesh are due to face Sri Lanka, as well as travelling to Scotland for a tri-series, to tune up for the World Cup.
Laura Wolvaardt was the leading run-scorer at the last one and Sobhana, whose photo with her idol remains pinned on her Instagram profile, will hope to continue proving she belongs in similar company.
“Laura is a really humble person and her batting is so important for her team,” she said.
“I look all the time at how she plays, how she hits the ball, to try and learn things for my own game.
“We will go to England and play confidently. We believe in our team.
“In the last T20 World Cup, we won one game against Scotland. This time, we play five group matches, so we will try to win more games and show our character.”