Veteran Bangladeshi fast bowler Jahanara Alam was once a cornerstone of the national women's team until she was dropped following the Sri Lanka series in May 2023. However, through sheer dedication, sacrifice, and an exceptional performance in the Dhaka Women's Premier League, where she finished as the leading wicket-taker with 25 wickets, she has earned a recall to the national side for the upcoming Women's T20 Asia Cup, set to take place from 19-28 July in Sri Lanka. On Thursday, after the national team's training session at BKSP, the 31-year-old discussed her return to the national colours and World Cup preparations with a media outlet.
Reflecting on her return to the national team after a year's absence, she shared, "To be honest, it's an amazing feeling. It's a proud moment for me to represent Bangladesh and give them my service. Hopefully, I can stay fit and play for Bangladesh once again wearing the jersey."
Addressing the importance of the Women's Asia Cup for their T20 World Cup preparations, she commented, "Well, I would say it's all about performance. If we can play really well in the Asia Cup, where we will face three tough opponents – Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India – I think it will be very good preparation for the World Cup. We will face Sri Lanka in the group phase and another team in the semis, assuming we qualify. If we manage to reach the final, there is a chance we may face all three teams. Meanwhile, it's a plus point for us that the World Cup is all set to be held in Bangladesh. We know about the weather and wickets. So I think we are a little bit ahead of other teams. However, skill is a big matter and so is the performance. If you can do really well in the Asia Cup, it will increase our confidence and will be very helpful for delivering our performance."
Regarding the team's overall preparation for the T20 World Cup, she observed, "After the Asia Cup, we will play in the NCL. Hopefully, we will have a good preparation over there as well as there will be eight teams and we will get seven matches to play. I hope everyone will get the proper opportunity to play competitive matches. The following tournament will be the T20 World Cup, I think preparation wise we are getting enough matches."
When asked about the pressure surrounding the T20 World Cup, she acknowledged, "I think there will definitely be pressure. Expectations will be high. There will be family members, fans and followers who will expect good results from us. We will also try to give positive results to them. But it will depend on how good we are playing on that particular day. We are still very positive as a unit and hopefully, we will do well in the tournament."
