Bangladesh will kick off their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a clash against fellow Asian outfit Sri Lanka in Cape Town on February 12. Bangladesh lost both of their warm-up matches ahead of the main tournament and face an uphill battle if they wish to make it out of the group, which consists of favourites Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Ahead of their campaign opener, we look at the three players who will play a crucial role in deciding their fate in the ICC mega event.

Nigar Sultana

The Bangladesh skipper is one of their most talented batters on the side and will carry a lot of responsibilities in the batting department apart from her leadership duties. She had a decent outing against a formidable Indian side in their last warm-up game and will look to carry that form into the fixture against Sri Lanka. She holds the key for her side and will be eyeing a memorable tournament after a disappointing performance in the Asia Cup last year.

Murshida Khatun

Another Bangladeshi batter who will be a key to her side’s chances in the tournament is the young opening batter, Murshida Khatun. The southpaw is an eye-pleasing stroke maker and will need to adapt to the South African conditions in order to provide a good start to the team at the top of the order. Much like her skipper, Murshida also got much-needed runs under her belt in the previous warm-up match against India as she aggregated 32.

Rumana Ahmed

The veteran Bangladesh all-rounder has been around the national set-up for more than a decade since making her debut in 2011. While Rumana Ahmed is quite a handy batter lower down the order, it is her leg spin that makes her an invaluable asset to the team.

She has got a wealth of experience in the shortest format of the game, appearing in 82 matches she has scalped 75 wickets in that process. She has also scored 848 runs in the shortest format of the game with her willow and will be itching to get her team to the semis this time around.