From crops to cricket: The incredible story of Marufa Akter

Playing cricket seemed like a luxury to Marufa Akter where basic survival was a struggle. Keeping her dreams aside, the girl from Syedpur in Nilphamari got busy with her father in crop field during Covid. But with the help of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Marufa's dream got touch of color. 

She returned to BKSP, performed in the domestic tournaments and now got called for the Bangladesh women's cricket team.

The BCB announced the squad for the T20 World Cup qualifiers on Sunday. 19-year-old right-arm pacer Marufa has been called up as a new face in this 15-member team.

Experienced pacer Jahanara Alam has returned to the team. Two pacers Suraiya Azmin Chanda and Fariha Islam did not get a place in the team in the mission of booking tickets to play on the World Cup stage. 

Marufa shined with the ball in the one-day format Dhaka Premier League organised after the outbreak of Covid-19. She took 23 wickets at an economy rate of 3.21 in 11 matches for BKSP. She bagged a seven-wicket haul in a match. In recognition of his great bowling, she won the 'Best Promising Player' award of the tournament. 

Then Marufa surprised everyone by getting a call to the 28-member national team camp. She scored the highest points on the fitness test.

Bangladesh's World Cup qualifiers will begin with a match against Ireland on September 18 in the United Arab Emirates. In 'A' group, Bangladesh women's opponents are Scotland and USA. Group 'B' consists of Thailand, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea and hosts United Arab Emirates.

The top two teams from the two groups will play in the final. And these two teams will get a chance to play in the 2023 T20 World Cup.