‘Confidence is high, but we can’t be complacent’ – Anju Jain

Anju Jain, the Bangladesh Women coach, has said the players are high on confidence going into the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 Qualifier in the Netherlands, but insisted they won’t be complacent in an “unpredictable” T20 format.

Bangladesh go into the tournament, which starts on 7 July, as frontrunners to seal one of the two places up for grabs for the main competition in the Caribbean later this year.

On their recent tour of South Africa, Bangladesh were swept aside by the hosts across formats, but had many individuals set new national records and achieve personal bests. It all paid off in the Asia Cup, where they defeated the higher-ranked Pakistan and India – the latter they beat twice, including memorably in the final. Then they pulled off a 2-1 series win over hosts Ireland in a thrilling series, where more records were broken.

Taking charge of the Bangladesh team as head coach ahead of the Asia Cup was Jain, a former captain, opening batter and wicket-keeper for India.

Jain, who has 81 dismissals in one-day internationals, remains India’s most successful wicket-keeper. While she admits to mixed feelings at having beaten India, she’s nonetheless thrilled at the strides the Bangladesh team are making.

“Confidence is definitely high,” she told the ICC in a chat. “We had a lot of positives and good performances in the Asia Cup.

“But again, T20 format is an unpredictable one, so you can’t afford to be complacent or relaxed at all. And the World T20 is at stake, so we’ll be more focused.”

Bangladesh have had excellent preparation for the Qualifier. According to Jain, this has allowed them to sort out different roles for all the players. “We shuffled the batting order, bowling combinations a bit, we tried out new things. Thankfully they worked well,” she said. “We’ll try to work on the strengths more.”

The Asia Cup success was particularly thrilling. “Going to the Asia Cup, after coming from South Africa, we discussed that yes, we needed to improve, as a unit and individually. Plus we needed to make our presence felt. And we clicked as a unit.

“Before getting into the final, the girls were confident and relaxed. It didn’t feel like they felt extra pressure that they were playing a final against India. That was the best thing.”

The Bangladesh side have traditionally boasted of a strong spin attack. But in recent times, others have stepped up. Six of their top seven individual scores in T20Is have come this year, and against Ireland, their most valuable bowler was pacer Jahanara Alam.

“I think the best part right now is having a lot of all-rounders,” said Jain. “They’re flexible about their role and batting slot. That’s the strength right now.

“Fitness is definitely one area where we need to improve. We’re trying to manage their workload.”

Bangladesh open their campaign against Papua New Guinea on 7 July.