Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Tamim Iqbal approved the purchase of 20 elite-grade match bats, priced up to USD1k each for the Bangladesh women’s national team, after the players requested quality equipment comparable to the leading nations, confirmed by BCB Women’s Wing Chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu on Friday.
The board-funded initiative is expected to be completed before the Women’s Asia Cup, with captain Nigar Sultana Joty and co set to receive the new bats ahead of the continental tournament.
BCB Women’s Wing Chairman said the decision was taken to ensure Bangladesh’s women cricketers no longer lag behind their international rivals in terms of playing equipment.
“Many of our players do not have access to the same quality of bats used by leading women’s cricketers around the world. Many of them also lack personal sponsors. The national team players recently met BCB President Tamim Iqbal and requested the best quality match bats. He responded positively. Under his directive, the board will purchase 20 premium bats. We hope the players will receive their preferred bats before the Women’s Asia Cup,” Babu told Daily Sun.
The proposal was placed by the Women’s Wing during the BCB Board of Directors’ meeting on 29 July. While the initial plan was to purchase 10 bats for 10 players, the board instructed the Tender and Purchase Committee to double the order to 20.
Until now, Tigresses have relied on bats purchased with their own money or supplied by personal sponsors throughout their international careers.
Although the BCB has previously provided mid-range bats to age-group women’s teams, it has never purchased elite-grade match bats for the senior national side.
The move brings Bangladesh’s women in line with the world’s leading players, who regularly use top-end custom-made equipment.
India’s Smriti Mandhana uses an SS Ton Gajayan Xtreme bat priced between USD400 and USD600, while Harmanpreet Kaur prefers Spartan bats valued at USD400 to USD700.
Australia’s Ellyse Perry uses a Gray-Nicolls Atomic or similar elite-grade custom bat costing USD500 to USD800, while New Zealand’s Suzie Bates plays with a premium Kookaburra Kahuna model worth USD600 to USD900.
The BCB’s new plan goes even further, with the board prepared to spend up to USD1k on each bat to provide Bangladesh’s women cricketers with equipment matching the very best in world cricket.
Interestingly, many members of the men’s national team, including red-ball skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, white-ball captain Litton Das and the former One Day International captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, do not use bats worth USD1k, nor have they made such a request to the BCB.
In the past, ahead of Bangladesh Women’s tour of South Africa in 2018, after all-rounder Rumana Ahmed had two match bats stolen, Tamim personally stepped in and presented her with a lightweight CA bat from his own kit bag. The act earned widespread praise across the country’s cricket fraternity.
