ASHFAQ-UL-ALAM

From a young girl living in a fourth-class government employee quarters with her family, dreaming of playing international cricket, to becoming the national team’s most reliable spinner, Nahida Akter’s cricketing journey so far has been nothing short of inspirational.

Nahida yesterday added another exciting chapter in her career when she carved out a special place for herself in the list of ‘firsts’ in Bangladesh cricket by becoming the country’s first woman cricketer to be recognised as ICC’s player of the month.

The left-arm spinner won the title on the back of her player-of-the-series performance against Pakistan in November, where she bagged seven wickets in three games and played a pivotal role in Bangladesh’s 2-1 series triumph at home.

On paper, Nahida bested two other contenders -- compatriot Fargana Hoque and Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal -- to win the award.

But in reality, this award was a testament to Nahida’s years of hardships against financial constraints and people’s ridicule, which almost crushed the 23-year-old’s cricketing journey 11 years ago.

Back in 2012, Nahida’s dreams of becoming a cricketer were dangling by a thread after she was denied admission to BKSP, the country’s oldest and biggest sports educational institute.

“I went for a BKSP trial in 2012 but I was not selected. Then my brother Nazim Ahmed told my mother that I should focus on my studies and give up cricket. I broke down in tears,” Nahida had told The Daily Star in October, 2020.

When other family members had lost hope, Nahida said her mother still believed in her dream and supported her. The prayers of her mother were answered the following year as Nahida got admission in BKSP.

The attitude of the rest of the family also changed soon enough as her brother later bought her cricket equipment and her father Hamdu Miah took great pride in being addressed as ‘Nahida’s father’.

Nahida’s story of struggle, however, is not an aberration but the trend in the country’s women’s cricket.

Many of Nahida’s teammates have similar stories and had to fight against great adversities to make it to international cricket.

And even after reaching the highest level, their hardships don’t end as the women’s team has to achieve significantly more with much fewer resources to earn a fraction of the adulation the national men’s team receives.

Still, an ever-growing number of young girls, many from underprivileged backgrounds, from all across the country are striving to don the red and green jersey, just like Nahida.

For those girls, Nahida’s story of triumph will stand true as an inspiration because just like Nahida, sky is the limit for all of them.