Nahida Akter (Bangladesh spinner) is also one of the most successful bowlers in Bangladesh’s women’s cricket team and is a long way along the way. But she started her career with the women’s cricket in Bangladesh being still in its infancy and the opportunities for female cricketers still very little known. Nahida has been through everything from doubts about her decision to take up cricket to becoming a Test player on an international level.
Nahida’s journey has been about far more than individual accomplishments. One day in the future the left-arm spinner hopes her story will inspire the next generation of Bangladeshi girls to be involved in cricket and believe in its potential. Nahida spoke at the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 and pointed out that she did not have the best start when she began her career.
When Nahida started playing cricket
women’s cricket was never at the same level of acceptance and recognition as it is today. She recalled how she had to convince people that playing was a good idea. For a young girl who wanted to get into competitive cricket, deciding whether to play, travel to matches and spend long periods away from home was a challenge.
Nahida continued to keep going through those difficult times and she said her family supported her by their actions, her brother especially. What she did well was she had that support to play cricket when it was uncertain how the future was going to look.
And Nahida is not only more confident today, but she will always recall as a young girl that those early hurdles just made her stronger. She did not let the challenges discourage her; rather, she used them as inspiration to show that her decision to play cricket can pay off. She is Bangladesh’s most reliable bowler, and that is because she was determined that she would be.
Nahida has also been inspired by the players that have come before her. She particularly remembers watching Bangladesh stars like Salma Khatun, Rumana Ahmed and Jahanara Alam when she was around 14 years old. At the time Salma was the leader of the national team and watching those players represent Bangladesh at the international level gave Nahida a glimpse of what could be done.
Salma Khatun was one of her biggest inspirations
Rumana Ahmed and Jahanara Alam also helped her develop. Watching them play, Nahida understood so much about the technical aspects of cricket but also the dedication and determination that it takes to represent the country.
Her passion for the game goes well beyond women’s cricket. Nahida has followed the careers of players who bowl left-arm like Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lankan legends Rangana Herath as a spinner. Their performances and way of bowling have inspired her and that’s the way she’s learned her own game.
Nahida today is in a different position. She is no longer simply the child watching the cricketers from the sidelines. She has become one of the players that young Bangladeshi girls can watch and aspire to follow and become. That responsibility, however, is not something she feels to be a burden.
Nahida sees it as a source of motivation. She hopes her story will motivate girls who might have their own doubts and difficulties at the beginning of their careers. She is even able to convince one girl to pick up a cricket ball and that is the only thing that would make all the journey worth it for her.
The message is particularly meaningful as women’s cricket continues to grow in Bangladesh and around the world. More young girls are getting opportunities to play competitively, while established players are increasingly becoming role models for those who wish to rise up in the international game.
Nahida’s story is one that shows the effect that family support, determination and being surrounded by inspiring role models can have on a young professional athlete’s career. And so she wants to give that inspiration to others now because she has been supported by her family, and she has learned from players like Salma Khatun.
Nahida Akter’s message, as Bangladesh moves toward another great chapter in women’s cricket with her team next time around, goes beyond the boundaries. She is telling young girls to pick up a cricket ball and that is the first step in learning about their potential. If she is able to encourage even one cricketer to take that first step, Nahida believes it will make everything she has experienced along the way even more special.
