Bangladesh's tone-deaf approach to outside noise helps seal T20 WC berth

Bangladesh women's team head coach Sarwar Imran said on Wednesday that his charges reaped the benefits of leaving behind all the outside noise, as they earned their berth in the next ICC Women's T20 World Cup, courtesy a dominant 39-run victory over Thailand in the qualifier.

Bangladesh women's cricket felt like a program in freefall for much of the past six months, raising questions about whether the team could even survive its own internal fractures, let alone qualify.

It began after former national cricketer Jahanara Alam brought sexual harassment allegations against a member of the team management. Furthermore, veterans made allegations of physical assault against skipper Nigar Sultana, which became a major topic of discussion ahead of the qualifier. Nigar cleared her stance in an interview, claiming she is not a dictator in the dressing room.

However, Nigar and the team opted not to lose focus amid the noise and concentrated on ensuring their performance spoke for itself. They clinched their fifth consecutive victory in the Qualifiers—a perfect, unbeaten run.

Head coach Sarwar explained that the key to qualification was a strict "zero-negativity" policy regarding past controversies.

"Before coming to the Qualifiers, there were many kinds of negative discussions. We never allowed those to enter our dressing room," Imran said. "We always made sure that the dressing room remained free of negativity. The negative talks may have been about the players, but inside my dressing room, I tried to ensure such topics were not discussed so that the players' focus would not be affected."

To protect the team's mental space, the coaching staff ensured that past baggage stayed outside the boundary ropes.

"The biggest question mark heading into the tournament was whether the team could still trust its leadership after the heavy accusations levelled against captain Nigar Sultana Joty. On the field, that question was answered through a display of tight-knit chemistry.

"Joty is Joty; she is our symbol of trust," Imran noted. "I think the team bonding is very strong. The girls are playing together as a unit. There has been a lot of talk about them, and they are aware of it themselves. There was a need for them to prove themselves, and that is evident from their body language."

Despite the celebrations, Imran remains focused on technical gaps, specifically the consistency of the bowling attack. "One concern I still have ahead of the World Cup is Marufa's line and length. I am not very satisfied with that, and we need to work on it.

"Overall, if I evaluate this journey, I would say: we had very good body language, we tried to play to our strengths, and we managed to hold our nerves in tricky situations. But there is still a long way to go."