The Bangladesh Women’s Cricket team, who wrote their names into the country’s cricket history in red letters by clinching a first-ever international trophy, the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup, will return home Monday afternoon.
Bangladesh clinched their dream trophy in the continental meet, in the process ending giant neighbour India’s hegemony in the region by beating the six-time Asian champions twice -first by seven wickets in the league match, and then memorably by three-wickets in a last ball thriller in the final in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
This was the another historic occasion for Bangladesh cricket on Malaysian soil, after the men’s cricket team clinched the ICC Trophy in qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, also in Kuala Lumpur some twenty-one years ago.
The immediate impact on the team is an injection of confidence ahead of July's World T20 Qualifiers in Netherlands after winning the 5 consecutive matches in the just concluded Women’s Asia Cup, over India (twice), Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia.
Bangladesh have defeated higher-ranked teams in the past, too, including South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka across both limited-overs formats. their maiden victory over India, who had never lost an Asia Cup match before, and then beating them again in the final became a much bigger deal.
It is mentionable that some 17 players in the national squad are being paid BDT 10,000 to 30,000 (USD 120 to 360) per month for the last few years, since the salary structure came into place in 2012. For an ODI, they are paid USD 100 per game and USD 75 for a T20 international.
The structure brooks no comparison with the men, who in contrast to the girls have made it a habit in recent years to stumble at the India hurdle in international competetions
The BCB is also likely to discuss the salary structure in its next board meeting on June 11.
The triumphant Bangladesh side is scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 17:50 pm tomorrow by an US Bangla flight.