Bangladesh’s major goal in the forthcoming ICC women’s T20 World Cup would be to end their 10-year-long winless streak, according to skipper Nigar Sultana Joty.

Bangladesh have gone without a win in the last four editions of this competition, playing four matches each. They have played in each and every edition of the T20 World Cup since 2014.

Their only two wins in this competition came against Sri Lanka and Ireland when Bangladesh hosted the World Cup in 2014. But since then, the wait for another win continues.

‘The statistics you’ve spoken about — it’s always in my head. I’ve myself played in four World Cups but haven’t managed to win a single match,’ said Joty during a press conference after the official photo session at Mirpur on Tuesday.

‘Of course in this World Cup, my personal as well as the team’s goal will be that we can start the tournament with a win.’

Bangladesh, the official host of this tournament, will begin their campaign with the match against Scotland on October 3 at Sharjah.

The Scottish are the only ICC associate nation participating in this tournament. So, on paper, Bangladesh should win the game easily.

However, Joty stated that in modern cricket, no one can be taken lightly.

‘Scotland are playing good cricket regularly nowadays. In a tournament like the World Cup, every team will come with an expectation of doing well. But our aim will be one victory that we have thrived for a long time,’ she said.

One of the main concerns for Bangladesh is their batting. Since the last edition, Bangladesh has had the lowest collective batting average (14.54) and strike rate (84.46) among the participating teams in this World Cup.

However, Bangladesh’s captain believed that their batting had improved, and that if they could change their approach and play without thinking how big the competition was, they would be successful.

‘In the last A team’s tour to Sri Lanka, the national players have improved. I think if we can change our mentality, if we don’t think too much that we will be playing in the biggest stages of all and we play to our capacity, then the batters won’t suffer much,’ she said.

‘There is a series going on between Afghanistan and South Africa in Sharjah. That can be an advantage for us because the spin is working very well. Moreover, our batters play spin well. So, I hope that the batters will play well.’

Apart from Scotland, Bangladesh women will face England (October 5, Sharjah), the West Indies (October 10, Sharjah), and South Africa (October 12, Dubai) in Group B.

Though the primary goal will be to achieve a victory, Joty is also hopeful that a semi-final place is not beyond their reach.

‘Our first goal will be to win matches. And then, if we get the flow, maybe that flow [will take us to the semis]. Who doesn’t want to play in the semifinals? We know, if we want to take the women’s cricket of Bangladesh forward, there’s no better stage than a World Cup,’ said Joty.

‘If we want to reach the semi-finals, we will have to win matches from the remaining three apart from the Scotland match. If we focus on the particular team before each match and if we can execute our plans, then that’ll be good.

‘We have beaten South Africa in the T20s on their home soil, so we’ve had a good experience against them. We meet England only in World Cups; we don’t play that frequently with them. But we are also a new opponent to them. The match will be at Sharjah, and we are good at spin. So, you never know.’

Bangladesh head coach Hashan Tilkaratne was also hopeful that this time they have a very good chance of doing well.

‘We are very confident. There’s every element in this team. This team has the capability of going in the long race. This is about sticking to plans in batting, bowling, and fielding. If we can do that, then why couldn’t we?’

Bangladesh will leave for Dubai on Thursday morning to take part in the World Cup.