Bangladesh finally ended a decade-long losing streak in the Women鈥檚 T20 World Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Asia Cup but still 2024 will go down as one of their worst as their struggle in the T20 format continued.
Nigar Sultana Joty-led side won only three out of 19 T20Is played this year, with a winning percentage of only 18.75. This was so far their worst, where they have played at least 10 matches in a single聽year.聽
Bangladesh women began the year with a T20I series against Australia, who toured the country for the first time for a bilateral series.聽
The result of the series was somewhat expected as the hosts lost all three matches by 10 wickets, 58 runs, and 77 runs, respectively.
The Asia Cup in July offered a glimmer of hope. Wins against associate nations Thailand and Malaysia propelled Bangladesh to the semi-finals, but they suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against India, marking their sixth consecutive loss to their regional rivals.聽
This followed a 3-0 series defeat against India in Sylhet earlier in the year.
The T20 World Cup was initially scheduled in Bangladesh in 2024. However, due to a student-led movement in July and August, along with subsequent political unrest, the tournament was shifted to the UAE.
Bangladesh remained the official host, and they beat Scotland in their opening group fixture, which was their first in the tournament since 2014.聽
However, the defeats to England, the West Indies, and South Africa led to Bangladesh鈥檚 early exit from the World Cup.
They ended the year with a 3-0 loss to Ireland鈥攖heir first T20I bilateral multi-match series loss against them.聽
Bangladesh, though, registered a record 3-0 win over the Irish in the 50-over format, which boosted their chances of direct qualification for the ICC Women鈥檚 Cricket World Cup 2025.
It was a mixed bag for them in the ODIs this year. They played two series and six matches, winning half of those.聽
Bangladesh lost to Australia in March in Mirpur, where they failed to score even 100 runs in a single match.聽
Then they thrashed Ireland in November-December to wrap the year in the 50-over format. That series also marked the return of Sharmin Akter, who amassed a record-breaking 211 runs from three innings.聽
She was also the highest run-getter in the format for Bangladesh despite not playing most of the matches.聽
The honour in the T20Is went to Joty, who scored 453 runs at an average of 32.35. Left-arm spinner Nahida Akter was the highest wicket-taker in the 20-over format with 21 wickets and became the first female bowler to reach the 100-wicket milestone for her country.聽
The Bangladesh Cricket Board introduced several landmark initiatives in 2024. For the first time, a women鈥檚 first-class competition was inaugurated, aiming to strengthen the domestic structure.聽
Additionally, the board announced contracts for 30 players outside the central pool, similar to the first-class contracts in men鈥檚 cricket. Salaries for centrally contracted players were also increased.
