Nigar Sultana Joty to Lead Bangladesh in ICC Women's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier 2026

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global qualifier 2026, which is set to commence on January 18. Nigar Sultana Joty has been appointed as the captain of the side, along with Nahida Akter, named as the vice-captain.

The Tigresses had their moments in 2025, which included some notable victories in marquee events such as the victory over Pakistan in the opening match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. Bangladesh is set to depart for Kathmandu on January 12, to kickstart their preparations to secure their spot in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh has been placed in Group A for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20I World Cup Global Qualifier along with Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Ireland and the United States of America. They have brought relatively fewer changes to their squad with respect to the T20 squad that had travelled to the West Indies in early 2025.

Lata Mondol and Taj Nehar have been dropped from the squad, and the latest additions to the squad are Juairiya Ferdous and Ritu Moni. The bowling unit of this Bangladeshi side looks well-rounded with the likes of Marufa Akter in the pace department and Fahima Khatun leading the spin department.

Sultana Joty is the backbone of the batting unit as she is a consistent run-scorer at the top. Sobhana is also a key batter in the squad with her experience and ability to regulate the innings with her technical ability against spin in challenging conditions.

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In the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, the Bangladesh Women had a difficult outing with just one victory in their entire tournament. They had a commanding victory over Pakistan by 7 wickets in their first match, and their dominant bowling swept up the Pakistani innings for just 129 runs.

Rubya Haider announced herself on the big stage in the opening game with a composed fifty that anchored the chase and helped the Bangladeshi side secure their second Women’s World Cup win in history. Sharmin Akter was Bangladesh’s most consistent batter with two half-centuries and some crucial knocks against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Shorna Akter was their most dominant bowler, who landed crucial blows such as the 3/5 against Pakistan.

Even though on paper, it looked like Bangladesh had a terrible tournament, they did not exactly. They were competitive in many matches and forced close encounters against the best international sides such as England and South Africa. They could secure their spot in the T20 World Cup as well if they keep up their spirited efforts at every stage of the game.

Squad:

Nigar Sultana Joty (C), Nahida Akter, Sobhana Mostary, Farzana Haque, Sharmin Akter Supta, Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, Shorna Akter, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Fariha Islam Trisna, Shanjida Akther Maghla, Sultana Khatun