13 February - Gqeberha - Bangladesh Captain Nigar Sultana pre-match press conference
[Reporter]
If you can tell us a bit about what has the teams discussing following the defeat to Sri Lanka been like, there has been barely any time, the match took place only last night and you're here straight from the airport – please tell us a bit about that.
[Nigar]
As you mentioned actually didn't get the time of discussion but we had a preview meeting after the match so we had to discuss a few areas that we need to working on that we if we want to play good cricket in the next matches. So we just need to work on that and obviously coach had a good plan against Australia so we are just working on that.
[Reporter]
Bangladesh had done reasonably well although they lost that match against them during the 2022 ODI World Cup in New Zealand, but your pacers started out really well in that game. And we also saw Marufa invest well against Sri Lanka, how much of confidence are you investing in your pace unit. As you look at to take on Australia.
[Nigar]
I think this is a very good wicket for the pacers and I have seen Jahana bowl really well in the first spell even though I can say about Marufa was stunning I guess. She's just young and she's super talented and how she bowled actually amazed all over the world. And I'm just looking forward to see her to bowl against Australia the same way she bowled against Sri Lanka.
[Reporter]
If you can tell a little about Marufa, where she comes from, she is a very impressive pace bowler. She's only 18 years old. What did you see in her as captain and how did you spot a talent like Marufa?
[Nigar]
Basically, Marufa came from a very small village where cricket was not really that much popular. Her father is a farmer. So her journey was very struggling. So far I think, from there, there is a sports institution in Bangladesh called BKSP, "Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan" (Bangladesh Sports Institute), she first gives trials there. She was then admitted after the trial. As her family background was not that strong, she got a lot of support from BKSP. She already mentioned in the last press conference that she could not bowl that well at the beginning there but her coach there, Ms. Fatima taught her bowling. She is very grateful to her. And then she improved gradually and during COVID, that 2 years when the whole world was struggling then it was tough for her. But BCB continued to nurture her. And I believe Bangladesh Cricket Board has a great contribution behind her to getting into U-19 and what she's today. Because BCB helped to arrange practice sessions for her and to look after her so that she's getting all kinds of privileges. Although she was not in the national team, still BCB was nurturing her because the Bangladesh Cricket board or the management knew that one day she can perform well for Bangladesh. So that belief and confidence were always there. That's why you can say that it was like an investment in her so that she can serve Bangladesh now. Since she is very young, the management doesn't create that much pressure on her. They just tell her to play her own/natural cricket as good as she can. I think that this natural humbleness and cuteness that she possesses and she can adapt everything very quickly and she's also excellent in fielding, I would say like acrobatic. So overall, she's a great asset for the Bangladesh team.
[Reporter]
Today is a big day for women's cricket because the Women's cricket league auction is currently underway. Till the time you came to Port Elizabeth from Cape Town, anyone of you checked the phone at that time because many Bangladeshi players are listed in the auction; some are unsold but they can come again to the auction. So if you can share about how was the mood among the players?
[Nigar]
I would say not only in the Bangladesh camp but also those who play cricket and watch crickets are very excited about it. I think it's a great step for women's cricket that will inspire other cricket-playing countries as well, I hope. Because we have seen always this auction thing is for men's cricket and that also we used to see with great excitement. Since this is happening for the first time for women, and when we sat in the airport and the auction began then many of us were interested. It's not because any Bangladeshi players got sold but we are very happy because it has been started and we wish this to be continued. By this, Women's cricket will be promoted all over the world and I think other young girls will be motivated a lot by IPL for playing cricket in the future. And I think if one or two players from Bangladesh can go to the Women's premier league, that will inspire a lot of young girls.
[Reporter]
Given the women’s PL auction is currently under way in Mumbai and a number of Bangladesh players have enlisted themselves in the auction and they’ve made it to the shortlist, can you talk us through the excitement in the team, while you made your way from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth to play your game against Australia?
[Nigar]
Yeah we are super excited, we were in the airport and we were watching the auction live on the phone and though we have not been sold any Bangladeshi player, but still I think it is a huge opportunity for women’s cricket and obviously back home I think there are a lot of young girls who are getting inspired and motivated on that.
[Reporter]
I have two questions. Are you thinking of any change in the team before playing with the opponent? In the first match, nobody could actually pick up a wicket except Marufa. [broken voice, inaudible]
[Nigar]
The second question did not come up at all. I couldn't hear. If you can please repeat that one more time?
[Reporter]
[broken voice, inaudible]
[Nigar]
I think I understand, as you said, our plan against Australia and whether there will be any changes in the team. In that case, I would say that we haven't discussed it yet because we had a really short time, or we didn't have enough time to discuss it. Of course, we will look at their team combination before tomorrow's match and try to arrange our team accordingly, what will be needed and what won't be needed. That's how we'll proceed. And if you say, yes, no one except Marufa could pick up a wicket. But I'd say the spinners bowled fairly well, not that bad. So far, the first ten overs were under our control. In the next ten overs, we gave a lot of boundaries along with singles. Because of this, we could not control the game that way. But still, I think, so far we could do better in the bowling unit, hopefully, because we all know that we are strong in bowling. If we think from that point of view, if we make 5-10% fewer mistakes than the last match and play 10-15% better cricket then we can show better cricket tomorrow against Australia.
[Reporter]
During the warm-up match against India – you came to strike in the super over and you scored a number of boundaries. You scored fours and sixes with ease against Deepti Sharma, and it took a lot of power for you to get those boundaries. If you can please describe how you've worked out on yourself to generate the power, what type of training regime you do you follow, and what type of workout you do and your diet specifically.
[Nigar]
Basically, I would like to say that specifically if you're thinking about strength, I am working out for a long on strength. And I had some issues with my batting technique. During the 'lockdown'; when we had lockdown in Bangladesh in 2020-21, at that time I got more time to work out individually on me. So back home I was more focused and worked out on those lackings and problems that I was facing. And now when we got new coaching staff plus those who were there before, the whole management trusted me a lot. So I always try to contribute 110%, because so far when I play a longer inning, then the team stands on a good score. So I have that responsibility on me. There is not much pressure in practice matches. You don't have pressure even if you play your own way, and do some mistakes. So super over was an opportunity for me to play freely. So I had a tendency that I know there are players who can hit big in the India team. So if we score 10, 12 or 15 runs in the super over, we will not be able to win. So my target was to score 18-20 runs at least. When I saw that Deepti Sharma came to bowling who's an off-spinner and I am a right-handed batter, I intentionally took the strike from Sobhana. I told her that since I played a long time, give the strike to me so that I can try. Then I just followed two things that the head coach told me when I had problems while playing main matches. So I just followed the two things and played in the super over, and it worked actually for me. And I was so happy that at least we got a win over India in the super over and that actually boosted my team very well.