The roadmap for women’s cricket in Bangladesh is finally coming into sharp focus, with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and the upcoming inaugural Women’s Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL) standing tall as its cornerstone. Last November, Rubaba Dowla joined the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) as a director, since then she has been working towards development.
The ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled in England this year from 12 June to 05 July, and Bangladesh qualified for it with an unbeaten campaign in the Global Qualifier and they are determined to carry the same momentum.
“The most important thing is confidence and mindset, and we tried to work on that. We chose Scotland because the conditions and weather will be similar to England, where we will be playing in the World Cup and will gather experience of playing against foreign players.”
They have started working towards it to sharpen their skills as they will be playing against the best teams in the world. After the Women’s BPL, Bangladesh is looking forward to hosting Sri Lanka at home, then they will be moving to Scotland for a tri-series, a smart strategy to get exposure and get used to English conditions.
“We are working toward securing more international matches, and structured high-performance camps. I would like to integrate sports science and fitness,” Rubaba stated. This is all part of giving players the exposure they need, which, according to Rubaba, is very crucial for growth in women’s cricket in Bangladesh.
The WBPL will Increase match exposure, create financial opportunities, attract overseas professionals, and develop market value for our players. If women’s cricket does not have a commercial engine, it will always remain dependent. WBPL is about independence.
Several parties have already expressed interest, including owners from the current men’s BPL teams. After the Expression of Interest process wraps up on March 4 they will be locking the franchises. Sponsorship talks are also under process. Rubaba is clear she wants it to become a fixture on the calendar, setting standard for professional pathways in women’s cricket.
Each team of the WBPL is allowed to have two or three international players, which gives the domestic players a platform to grow and develop their skills on the field and gain experience in high-pressure situations and learn a lot of lessons. This is a huge move towards the development of high-level cricket in Bangladesh women’s cricket.
With the T20 World Cup just around the corner, these international matches and the WBPL could be the base for the development of raw cricket talent in Bangladesh, which is a long-term gain. Exposure to competition, professionalism, and international talent is the new focus of their strategy. The next few months are going to lead Bangladesh into a new era of world class cricket for Bangladesh women’s cricket.
(Quotes sourced from The Daily Star)
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