Exclusive: Mandhana, Harman failed to live up to World Cup expectations, feels Jahanara Alam

The Bangladesh pacer insisted that Indian stars like Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues also failed to deliver in the WT20 WC.

Hyderabad:Ace Bangladesh seamer Jahanara Alam on Saturday in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat opened-up about her fitness regime, Bangladesh's poor performance in 2020 Women's T20 World Cup and the prospect of playing in Women's Indian Premier League.

When asked about the COVID-19 enforced lockdown, Jahanara said, "I am happy in this situation. I am okay. My family is also safe. But I am a bit unlucky as I am not with my family. I am currently stuck in Dhaka away from my home. After the World Cup when we came from Australia since then I am stuck here. The situation is not good here. More than one lakh people have been infected by the deadly virus."

Speaking about her journey as a cricketer, Jahanara said, "It's actually a funny story. When I started playing I was 14 years old. And I used to play handball and volleyball. I did not like cricket back then and I did not even use to watch it on television."

The pacer further revealed that after she got an offer from Salauddin, who was a coach under Bangladesh Cricket Board then, regarding the formation of their national women's team, she agreed.

Jahanara Alam

Jahanara added, "When I went for trial, I failed in every department, be it bowling, batting or fielding. Because I never watched cricket and I did not even know how to do it. But after that I did everything, my coach asked me to do and then in the next one month, I became a pace bowler. After that, I became the highest wicket-taker in an Open tournament."

Jahanara, a veteran of 37 One Day International matches, further said, "In the year 2007, I received a call to join the national camp and in the year 2008 I became a part of Bangladesh women's national team."

Talking about Bangladesh's poor performance in the 2020 T20 World Cup, Jahanara said, "Lossing is part of the game. Our performance in 2019 T20 World Cup was very bad and we failed to showcase our talent."

The Bangladesh pacer insisted that Indian stars like Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues also failed to deliver in the WT20 WC, that Australia won by defeating Women-in-Blue.