Nisshin, September 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Bangladesh women’s cricket captain Nigar Sultana has said her decision to step down as T20I captaincy after the Asian Games was driven by her desire to focus more on her batting, dismissing reports that she was unhappy over a lack of support from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Sultana had informed the BCB of her decision following the Asian Games and explained her reasoning after Bangladesh suffered a 114-run defeat to India in the semifinal at Korogi Sports Park on Sunday.
“No, it’s totally (false that I left the captaincy because I was hurt). As a batter, as a player, I have a lot more to give to my country and my team. So I want to focus on that, and that’s why I made this decision,” Sultana told the media after the match.
Bangladesh were bowled out after struggling in their 196-run chase against defending Asian Games champions India, with their batting failing to mount a serious challenge.
Sultana acknowledged the shortcomings of the batting unit but also felt the bowling attack could have done more to keep India’s total under control.
“When you’re chasing a big total, this kind of collapse is natural. With slightly better bowling, we could have restricted them to fewer runs,” she said.
She said the batters needed to take greater responsibility during the chase, particularly the top order.
“When a team collapses for so few runs, we as batters definitely took no responsibility. If even one top-order batter had stayed till the end, we could have added more runs,” Sultana said.
The Bangladesh skipper also pointed to inadequate preparation and limited training facilities as concerns during the tournament.
“We have virtually no training facilities here. Had we played that first match against China, it would have been much better for the whole team. But we missed that opportunity too. Overall, I’ll say the entire team played very poor cricket,” she said.
Bangladesh will now play Pakistan for the bronze medal, while India and Sri Lanka will meet in the gold-medal match.
Sultana remained optimistic about Bangladesh’s chances against Pakistan, pointing to the team’s previous record against them.
“We have a good record against Pakistan. There is a sense of positivity there,” she said.
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