Nigar Sultana

Nicknamed ‘Joty’ by her teammates, Sultana's career has gone from strength to strength ever since making her debut in 2015 against Pakistan, aged just 17

Emily Marshall | 01/02/2020 at 09:45

Born: August 1, 1997

Role: Right-hand bat, wicketkeeper

Nigar Sultana is one of the more experienced batsmen in the Bangladesh squad, even though she is only 22, having represented her country on 69 occasions.

Nicknamed ‘Joty’ by her teammates, her career has gone from strength to strength ever since making her debut in 2015 against Pakistan, aged just 17.

Sultana sat second in the rankings for highest T20 runscorer for her country ahead of the 2020 T20 World Cup, with 744 runs from 48 matches. She was the top scorer in the final of the 2018 Women’s Asia Cup, in which she helped her side to their maiden victory in the tournament.

However, the most cherished moment of her career came in 2019 against the Maldives in the South Asian Games, which the young Bangladesh squad ultimately went on to win. In this match she hit the highest score in T20s for a Bangladesh woman, striking an incredible 113 not out off just 65 balls.

She shared in a 236-run partnership (the highest ever by a Bangladeshi pair) with Fargana Hoque, who also hit a century, resulting in a mammoth total of 255 for 2 off 20 overs.

This incredible display resulted in Sultana being selected for the ICC Women’s Global Development squad in 2019 before then being made available for Melbourne Stars in the WBBL.

Runs have also come in ODIs, in which she has played 21, with a high score of 59 in 2017 against South Africa.

Not only is she a fierce, attacking cricketer with bat in hand, she is skilful as well with the gloves on, holding the record for the most T20 dismissals for her team (25) and the same in ODIs (21).

BANGLADESH PLAYER PROFILES

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