I want to focus on my batting - Nigar Sultana on her decision to quit T20I captaincy

Nigar Sultana, on Sunday, said that she stepped down from T20I captaincy to focus on her batting. Nigar had earlier informed the board that she does not want to continue as T20I captain following the Asian Games.

There were reports that Nigar wanted to step down from captaincy after not getting enough support from the board in tough times, though she begs to differ.

“No, it's totally (false that I left because I was hurt). As a batter, as a player, I have a lot more to give to my country and my team. So I want to focus on that, and that's why I made this decision,” Nigar told reporters following their huge loss to India in the Asian Games semi-final.

Bangladesh women's batting struggles continued as they bowed out of the Asian Games 2026 gold medal race after a 114-run thrashing at the hands of India in Sunday's semi-final at Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin. Asked to bowl first, Bangladesh allowed India to pile up a huge score of 195/4, with Shafali Verma bringing up her maiden T20 international ton, hammering an unbeaten 100 off just 49 balls.

In reply, Bangladesh looked completely helpless from the very beginning of their innings and eventually capitulated for 81 in 15.4 overs. Nigar admitted that the big target posted by India exposed Bangladesh's batting depth as they collapsed chasing huge runs.

“When you're chasing a big total, this kind of collapse is natural. With slightly better bowling, we could have restricted them to fewer runs,” said Nigar. "When a team collapses for so few runs, we as batters definitely took no responsibility. If even one top-order batter had stayed till the end, we could have added more runs," she said, pointing that Sri Lanka had posted 107 runs on the same surface against Pakistan earlier in the day.

She also pointed out their preparation was a concern as they were restricted to just two days of practice after rain disrupted their training schedule in Japan. Bangladesh's game against China got washed away while they also planned a warm-up match against China that eventually did not materialise.

“We have virtually no training facilities here. Had we played that first match against China, it would have been much better for the whole team. But we missed that opportunity too. Overall, I'll say the entire team played very poor cricket," said Nigar.

Bangladesh now face a bronze medal match against Pakistan, a fixture she believes her side can win. “We have a good record against Pakistan. There is a sense of positivity there," she said as she prepares to lead the side for one final time in the T20 format.

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