Nigar attributes success to mother’s encouragement

Cricket is undoubtedly the most beloved and followed sport in Bangladesh. People across the country get excited just to see the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim in action and to know their stories. It is the men's team that is often highlighted but during this nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Daily Star tried to contact women cricketers and shed light on stories of their struggles and hardships and to ask why they chose the profession. Today's, we unveil the story of wicketkeeper-batter Nigar Sultana, who was the top run-getter for Bangladesh in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia earlier this year.

More often than not, there remains at least one unsung hero behind the success story of an individual. That unsung hero often works from behind the curtains but almost as hard as the one in the frontline who gets all the plaudits. However, The Daily Star did find out the orchestrator of Nigar Sultana's success. For the wicketkeeper-batter, it is her mother who worked as a shield for her, paving Nigar's way to the Bangladesh women's team.

Even though Bangladesh is a sport-loving country, it is still a reality that children have to go a great length to convince their parents before choosing a sport of any discipline as a career. And when the child is a girl, the struggles usually increase tenfold. However, Nigar's case was an anomaly as she was rather supported and backed by her family as she decided to choose cricket as career.   

Bat and ball were Nigar's favourite toys since the day she learned walking. For Nigar, who started by joining her brother in playing cricket, the game became a kind of addiction as the days progressed. And after a lot of toil and hard work, Nigar finally became who she is today. But the starting of Nigar's journey was not very easy.

While Nigar fought with bat and ball on the field, it was her family, especially her mother, who shielded her from all the external forces that could harm her career. Growing up in a small town like Sherpur, it was not at all easy for Nigar to keep playing with boys -- at the initial stage -- and then to carry the cricket kits ignoring the taunts coming from a male-dominated society. It was her mother who protected Nigar from all such things and it was understandable as to why the 22-year-old became emotional sharing that part of her story.

"There were obstacles from every corner at the beginning. I could only remain unfazed through all that only because of the support of my family. It is really hard for a girl to take cricket as a profession as people keep talking badly about it," explained Nigar as her voice got heavy.

Nigar's struggle compounded because she was a brilliant student. The student who got scholarships in grade five and eight, had failed to keep consistency in her studies as she got involved in cricket.

"I was very good at my studies. I could have become something else had I not chosen cricket. But still my family helped me pursue my cricketing career. They bore all the expenses for my cricket equipments. The kind of family that I grew up could manage that extra expense only by cutting off and saving money from the allocated fund for other necessities," sighed Nigar.

The year 2014 was a difficult one for Nigar. It was, however, the part that popped in her head when she explained her mother's contribution to her success.

"I first got called up for the national camp in 2013. I was also a part of the camp in 2014 for the World Cup. But unfortunately I could not make the team that year. It was then that a stubborn determination consumed me. Shapan sir, my coach, toiled hard and helped me a lot at that time. I used to go to the stadium for practise day in, day out and my mother used to be there at the stadium for me the whole time. She used to be there to encourage me and mainly so that no one could say anything to me. My mom used to cook lunch for me and bring it to the stadium. I used to have that during my brief break in the afternoon and then start practising again. Then I got called for the national squad in 2015 and that is how it began. And by the grace of Almighty, I have already played in three World Cups since then," said Nigar.

While giving most of the credit to her mother, Nigar did not forget to mention contributions of her brother Salauddin Samrat and school-level coach Mokhlesur Rahman Shapan. Nigar's brother, who used to take her to the field when she was a kid, was also the one who instilled the dream of becoming a professional cricketer in Nigar's mind.

Nigar is now spending time confined indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic and has temporarily put aside any personal goals being as she is just hoping for normalcy to return.