It is not often that legspin-bowling allrounder Shorna Akter comes to the batting crease in the powerplay. But when Bangladesh lost four wickets in the powerplay in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in April, she was left to do much of the firefighting.
The situation offered little hope for the home side, who have struggled with the bat in recent times. The three T20Is against Sri Lanka were their first and last chance of competing against a Full Member side before the T20 World Cup, which starts this week. The BCB has been notoriously poor at organising bilateral matches for the women's side, so much so that the team went to the 50-over World Cup in India last year without having played any international cricket for six months.
When they got an opportunity, against Sri Lanka in this case, Bangladesh struggled in the familiar conditions of Sylhet. They had already lost the ODI series, and slipped to 44 for 4 chasing 162 in the first T20I.
The rest of Bangladesh's batting in ruins around her, Shorna stood tall that day, striking six boundaries, including two big sixes, on her way to 60. Her straight hits sent the TV commentators into a tizzy; they took a long time describing the shots.
While these sound like run-of-the-mill numbers for a T20 innings, Shorna plays for a team that doesn't have great batting pedigree in the format. Her 60 against Sri Lanka is the first half-century by a Bangladeshi batter at No. 6 or lower in T20Is. From that position, she has already struck eight sixes, the most by any Bangladesh woman.
Bangladesh will be hoping she comes good in the T20 World Cup. Particularly that in the second half of their innings, Shorna might provide a flourish, or as she did against Sri Lanka, firefighting services.
"I think I am a natural hitter of the ball," Shorna says. "I am working hard on this skill, to make sure how much more I can adapt to conditions and match scenarios. I also believe that we have more big hitters in the side. During the World Cup qualifiers, we saw how Sobhana [Mostary] batted so aggressively. I think many of us are starting to hit big. I have to bat in an important situation in the match. I try to play my role from my position in the middle order."
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Shorna's upbringing as a cricketer began in her village in Jamalpur district in the north of the country, not far from the border with Meghalaya in India. Predictably, as with most sportswomen in Bangladesh, it started with rejection.
"I loved playing cricket and badminton while growing up," she says. "When I saw my brother and his friends playing in a ground next to our place, I wanted to play cricket. But they never took me to play because I am a girl. They thought a girl would get hurt playing with the boys. They would only let me fetch the ball when it went out of bounds.
"But I had a distant uncle who saw me walking around alone in the park. He would teach me about the defence, cover drive and everything."
Not just on the field, Shorna had to take criticism from outside as well. "It was difficult to play cricket in Jamalpur," she says. "I had to hear a lot of things from people, especially neighbours. They would ask my parents, why is she playing with boys, it doesn't look good. They would say, why is she playing cricket, she should study and make something of herself.
"I had a pretty challenging upbringing as a cricketer. My parents suffered hearing these things. Who wants to hear such things about their daughter?
Thanks to Shorna's father and the relative who taught her to play, the dream didn't die. "I love playing cricket, so I never gave up on my dream. By Allah's grace, I have made it this far," she says.
She broke through into mainstream cricket after getting high marks in the Robi Spin Hunt, a programme to unearth spinners in 2017. "Then Shaon mama [uncle], who worked as the analyst for the Bangladesh women's team, collected my footage. He showed it to Rumana [Ahmed, the experienced legspinner] apu, who called me to play the Premier League in 2017. That's how my career started.
"I had a hard time staying away from family around that time. I still tried hard, playing in the National Cricket League. Then I got a call-up to the Under-19s camp. When I did well in the World Cup in 2023, I got a direct call-up to the Bangladesh team," Shorna says.
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Ahead of the T20 World Cup this year, Bangladesh's batting coach, Nasiruddin Faruque, is pinning his hopes on Shorna too. Having overseen her development since her early days, he rates her highly and thinks she is in the right place for a big performance.
Faruque's coaching career in women's cricket started with the Under-19s. "I had the likes of Marufa [Akter], Disha [Biswas] and [Dilara Akter] Dola. Shorna was also among them." he says. "She remains a similar type of batter. I can say that her hitting zone is better than before. I have seen very few players like her in our women's cricket.
"I think she is among the most talented batters in the country, and she is a more organised cricketer now. She is the appropriate player for batting in the death overs, something that's long been missing in the Bangladesh team."
Shorna is also going to find conditions more in favour of her batting, he says. "She is a superb player on sporting wickets. We struggled to develop batters for the better part of two years when we were playing at home on result-oriented pitches. Of course, someone like Shorna also couldn't get going on those types of pitches. Right now we play on sporting wickets. Shorna is enjoying batting on these surfaces.
"We are playing in England for the first time, so adapting to conditions is going to be crucial. We normally play more in the subcontinent, where the ball swings less than it does in England. Our openers need to give us a good start; handling the new ball is very important."
SM Golam Faiyaz, the Bangladesh team manager, says he has noticed Shorna developing in maturity both on and off the field. "She came through doing really well in the Under-19 World Cup [2023]," he says. "She finished in the ICC team of the tournament. The good start boosted her. She has been in the senior women's team from a young age, but I think now she is understanding everything pretty well and she is a mature cricketer. Above all, I think Shorna is a gutsy cricketer."
Faiyaz paints a positive picture of change in terms of the challenges that female cricketers face in Bangladesh, particularly in winning the approval of their parents.
"There is more exposure to women's cricket in Bangladesh - these days it is quite popular. Maybe when Shorna started playing some years ago, the female cricketers in the country were still facing challenges socially. I remember when Shorna's family came to watch some matches of the Ireland series a couple of years ago, they felt that their girl now belongs to the highest level. I think it inspired them a lot," he says.
Shorna herself finds positives in the expectations surrounding her. "I think [the pressure] is an inspiration. Everyone tells me that I am a good all-round cricketer. I try my best with the bat and ball.
"I had a wonderful time in the U-19 World Cup. I got into the senior team from that performance. I also played in the senior World Cup last year. We made a good start on that occasion. We had three close matches. I hope that other teams will count us [as worthy opponents].
"As a cricketer, I have picked up a few things along the way, but I have a long way to go," she says. "I haven't done much for the team yet. I will try to give my best in the World Cup."