‘A piece that had torn off a newspaper inspired me’
Undoubtedly, cricket is the most loved and followed sport in Bangladesh. People across the country get excited and pumped to see the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim in action and to know their stories as it is the men's team that are often highlighted most. However, during this period of nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Daily Star tried to contact the women cricketers and bring up the stories of their struggles, hardships or their prime reason behind choosing the profession and present those stories to the readers. In today's episode, we unveil the story of all-rounder Ritu Moni, who featured for the Tigresses in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup held in Australia earlier this year.
All-rounder Ritu Moni, who now holds the record for the best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi women cricketer in World Cups thanks to her four for 18 against New Zealand in Melbourne during the World Cup this year, once did not even know that a women's team existed in Bangladesh.
It was after 2006 that the now 27-year-old learned that women in Bangladesh played cricket professionally and at the international arena.
"One day as I was returning home from my school, I saw a piece of torn newspaper lying on the road where I saw a headline that Salma [khatun] apu got four wickets in a tournament. I can't remember what tournament or match it was.
"I came to my mother with the paper and told her, 'see maa, women of our country are playing cricket. I want to play cricket too.' Hearing that my mother replied, 'if you want, you can; we will help you.' Since then every member of my family had helped me a lot in becoming a cricketer," Ritu told this reporter, sharing the story behind choosing cricket as a profession.
This was just the beginning of Ritu's dream. And like most of the ambitious dreamers, Ritu, who hails from Bogura, also had to go through a lot of struggles and had to make sacrifices in order to achieve what she had dreamt of -- playing for the Bangladesh team.
"In 2008, I took part in a running event at the Altafunessa ground of our town, organised by the district sports association. I got chance to meet Moslem Uddin sir (the late Bogura district coach). I told him that I want to be a cricketer. Moslem Sir told me that if I wanted to be cricketer, I had to concentrate on cricket only. Since then I started playing cricket with boys in my village.
"Me, my three sisters and my brother had to go through a lot of financial hardship since my father died in 2004. When I started practising cricket at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura, 30 kilometres from my village, my family sacrificed a lot. Sometimes, we did not have enough money to cover food and other necessities for my family. My elder brother, Jewel Mia, gave me whatever he had. Such struggles I had to go through until I got called for the national team in 2012," recalled Ritu.
The all-rounder also recalled that in a society where women are often discriminated and discouraged from participating in sport, how her elder brother endured taunts from people as he supported Ritu in pursuing her dream.
Even today Ritu has to manage with limitations and struggle as she works hard to keep her professional career afloat.
"During this coronavirus crisis, I have been facing troubles to maintain my fitness. I returned from Dhaka on March 5. I did my physical exercise and had light running at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium. And after the lockdown, I used to have light running at a playground adjacent to my house. But since Ramadan started, I have had no opportunity to do any kind of physical exercises. At home, I have no gym facilities and I have to rely on only free-hand exercises," explained Ritu, who also mentioned having some financial issues recently with coronavirus halting women's NCL and DPL.
Even though Ritu had to overcome a lot of barriers and go through a lot of struggles, still the all-rounder keeps on dreaming big. And it never seemed far-fetched for a small town girl when she mentioned that after her cricketing career she would like to become a successful businesswoman.
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