'Women deserve same respect as men in sports'

Bangladesh scaled to many new heights in women's cricket in 2023 and the person who led them in this ascend from the front was captain Nigar Sultana Joty. As a new year begins with new possibilities and challenges, The Daily Star's Ekush Tapader caught up with Jyoti, where she spoke about the remarkable 2023 and what she hopes to achieve in 2024.

Excerpts of the interview are given below -

The Daily Star (DS): What's your assessment of the team's performances in 2023?

Nigar Sultana Joty (NSJ): The year 2023 was a significant year for women's cricket. We were playing regularly, which is important. We also got positive results. There were some excellent individual performances as well. I would say that 2023 gave a lot to women's cricket. I would rate this as one of our best ever years. We had a lot of matches and we played good cricket.

DS: What are your expectations in 2024?

NSJ: I can't claim that 2024 will go exactly like 2023. It all depends on what initiative we take. This is also the World Cup year. Another big point is that all of our matches this year are at home. Naturally, we want to do well in our home condition. Our preparation will dictate how we will perform. The Australian team are arriving at the end of March. We have never played a bi-lateral series against Australia. This will be our maiden series against them, and we have the ability to surprise them. All the girls now believe that if we can play as a team, anything is possible. We didn't have that belief in the past, which is why we weren't getting the results as a team. There were some individual brilliances, but the team performances remained disappointing. I believe that the 2024 will bring great things for us. If we can hold on to the consistency we showed in 2023, the next year will be a great opportunity for us.

DS: You had defeated India at home last year. Does this give you the confidence of beating Australia when they tour later this year?

NSJ: Everyone is strong in their own conditions. Still, I would want the matches to be played on a good wicket where bowlers get some benefits and us batters also can score some runs. Everyone considers us as tough oppositions in at home. Considering our recent performances, they won't take us lightly. If we play better as a team on the given day, execute our game plan, then we can play better cricket against Australia. I don't know whether we will win or lose. But I believe in playing good cricket. If we make a 100 runs and bowl them out for 80 to win a match, our cricket won't be benefitted by that. I want competitive cricket from both sides. They should also feel that even though they are the first ranked team and we are the seventh, we gave them a tough time.

DS: What did you learn from the South Africa tour?

NSJ: Firstly, we had never before won a match in South African soil. Our victories in this tour were a huge achievement. But at the same time, we had an opportunity to achieve something even greater and win the series in ODIs and T20s. In the first T20 and the ODI of the series, we played our best cricket. We scored 250 in the ODI and 150 in the T20s, which was a huge deal for us, especially in South African conditions as they are a very strong side in their conditions. We returned home emptyhanded from previous tours there. This time we gained something from the tour, but had the opportunity to gain something even greater. We are good in ODIs, but had we played a little better, we could've returned home with a big achievement under our belts. Still, I would say that now we have learnt how to win. But we still need to learn how to win consistently and hold our nerves in series-deciding matches, not just on home soil, away from Bangladesh as well.

DS: Even though some batters scored runs in South Africa, the team still struggles to score big away from home. What's your take on that?

NSJ: You know how difficult it is to maintain a good strike-rate in Asian countries. I don't need to spell it out (smiles). When we play on a good wicket, the game changes. In Asia, the wickets are spin-friendly, you have to consider many things before playing your shots. In South Africa, the pitches offered consistent bounce, they were true wickets. I don't want to use it as an excuse but it is something that can be said to explain this (batters not scoring runs in away conditions). If you look at the strike rates of the men;s team cricketers in Asia and outside of Asia, you will notice the same trend. In India, the wickets are usually true. But in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, even maintaining a strike rate of 100 is tough. Even the men's team cricketers' struggles. For us, the it's even more difficult as we don't play many power shots. This is a big reason why our batting is not improving. We are working extra hard on our batting. Still, we are struggling. We have to realise the reason behind this struggle. We play most of our cricket at home. This effects our strike rate. I feel appalled by my own strike rate!

Everyone has gotten a boost since returning from South Africa. Pinky (Fargana) apa always playes well in ODIs. Murshida (Khatun) is in good form, Shamima (Akter) apa is scoring consistently. In South Africa, our top four batters were among the runs. Hasan sir is working with the batters. He has gone through our stats and figured out why we were losing even after the bowlers were regularly restricting the oppositions for a low total. We have figured out ways of scoring runs even on pitches at home. But It would've been better if we got better wickets.

DS: So you want wickets at home where the batters can score more freely?

NSJ: Definitely, definitely. Cricket has changed a lot, cricket now is all about runs. If you don't have the habit of scoring 300 runs regularly, how can you expect to do it in the big stage. What happens now in T20s, is that we score around 130-140. We have won matches after even scoring just 110. In ICC events, you have to post 150 runs. Otherwise, how can you expect your bowlers to deliver? In ICC events, both departments get a lot of importance. India are making sporting wickets, that's why they are posting big totals. They are regularly scoring above 250 in ODIs. They are making 170-180 in T20s, because the pitches are batting-friendly. When the batters score more, the fans also feel more interested to tune in. If we don't post big scores, will the fans come to watch us play? Why do we get bundled out for 80 or 100? We have to grasp the source of the problem.

DS: What do you have to say about Nahida's performance this year?

NSJ: Nahida and I entered the national team together in 2015. We are very close, we spend a lot of time together. She first started showing maturity in 2021. Before that, she was an ordinary bowler. Now, she is an extraordinary one. She is a lot more matured, she can read the match situation and knows her game really well. She has become an essential member of the team.

DS: The team is going through a transition with experienced cricketers like Salma Khatun, Rumana Ahmed and Jahanara Alam being on their way out. How do you view this change?

NSJ: The team management says the same thing, id we want to improve as a team, we need to strengthen the pipeline. If we push each other, our desire to do better increases. Today, I'm in the team, I might not be here tomorrow. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. If there are options in hand, there is an added motivation to do better. This helps bring out better performances. With the number of games increasing, we need to have a lot of players on the bench. No one can play continuously. The human body can endure only so much. That's why we need to have backups. We are very lucky that we have some young players coming in. There is Marufa (Akter), Rabeya (Khatun) and Shorna (Akter). There is also a new player named Sumaiya. If we can guide them well, they can serve the national team for a long time.

DS: What are your expectations from 2024 as a batter?

NSJ: I had a horrible 2023. I'm not at all satisfied by it. I couldn't deliver what my team had expected from me. I was able to do it some matches, failed to do it others. If you are not consistent as a batter, you will be unable to help your team too much. In that sense, 2023 was a flop year for me. I am working really hard, and will work even harder. I know the people expect a lot from me. I want to do well in 2024. Even if I remain unbeaten at one end, the other batters feel more confident. I want to score runs consistently. If I can do that, our chances of winning increases by a lot. Our analyst also told me that when I score runs, the team wins. So, I understand the importance of me being among runs.

DS: Still you were the highest run-getter in T20s this year for Bangladesh.

NSJ: Still, I'm not satisfied.

DS: How do you view the significance of women's sports in the country?

NSJ: I feel that the things have changed. I used to think that the people are not that interested in women's sports. But now, there is huge interest in women's football. The women's footballers are also doing quite well. In other sports as well, the women are making progress. In abroad, they give women's sports the same amount of importance as men's sports. I don't know if the men's and women's sports are getting the same importance, but the situation has improved a lot.

DS: Some countries have opted for equal pay for men's and women's teams.

NSJ: It has happened in some places, not everywhere. In India, the men's and women's team get almost the same benefits from their board. I don't know if something like this would happen in Bangladesh. We have many limitations, there are also some problems in our mentality. Still, what's the harm in remaining hopeful. The Bangladeshi women in sports are bringing medals for the country, achieving great things. But for us, the biggest thing is respect. We don't wants bags of money, we want to be respected. We want to feel important. We want to see that we are getting prioratised. The women hope for the respect that men receive in every sport.

DS: How do you rate yourself as a captain?

NSJ: I have come so far because of my team. If my team didn't believe in me, I wouldn't have been able to come so far. The team members and the management deserve all the credit. They trust me in and off the field. I try to stay honest with myself. I want everyone to get an opportunity. Many people shy away from saying things to save their skin. I'm not like that. I speak my mind. When I have to scold my teammates, I do that, I don't even spare my seniors. Everyone takes my words positively. Everyone supports each other. That's why, I'm grateful to my team.

DS: What's your dream with the team?

NSJ: We are right not competing in the ICC ODI Super League, where every match is important. We don't want to play the qualifier for the 2025 ODI World Cup. We want to qualify directly. We are currently seventh, we want to become sixth. We want to be as safe as possible. We will play three ODI series against Australia, Ireland and the West Indies. We want to gain eight points by beating Australia or the West Indies. That's our collective dream.

The next T20 World Cup will be in Bangladesh, in front of our home fans. The entire world will be looking at us. It is a big opportunity for the Bangladesh women's cricket team. If we can perform well, then we will get more focused. The people will feel more interested, our respect will rise in world cricket. Our goal is to play well in the T20 World Cup. We have gone without winning a single match in the last T20 World Cup. We definitely want to win some games this time around.