Marufa Akter, the pace bowler who plays for the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket team, was surprisingly benched in their match against Malaysia in the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. This move raised wide eyebrows among fans and experts alike. One of the best bowlers with the new ball, Akter could not bowl her full quota in the last couple of games. The major issue was her performance during the last few overs, the last critical moment of the innings, which ended up being slightly costly.
Marufa’s Journey to Mastering Bowling
Marufa did not roll a full set of overs in any of the 17 games she played before the game against Sri Lanka. The inconsistency forced the team management to cover her overs with other bowlers, especially when the game was dying out. Head coach Hashan Tillakaratne admitted it openly by saying that Marufa’s inability to bowl well during the death overs is a big concern. He said they had worked out a new strategy to help her with this problem, and it involves various newer varieties in her bowling arsenal, like slower balls and yorkers.
Marufa herself admitted that she became aware of her deficiencies in the death overs. She said that though she was quite confident with the new ball, the death overs required more control and skills for which she was committed to its development. In other words, Marufa explained that earlier she did not focus on variations in pace but was working on it now. She sounded optimistic about her progress and said she was working on different deliveries, like cutters and slower balls, to become less predictable to the batsmen.
At a camp, Marufa received intensive coaching from former Test pacer Robiul Islam. He added that mastering these new skills would take time and could not be rushed. Robiul opined that even though some technical changes were required in Marufa’s bowling, the time was very short for the preparation. They have limited time for the improvements in Marufa before upcoming tours. Thus, their focus was developing her skills in bowling yorkers, slower balls, and off-cutters. She showed a lot of improvement and confidence; it was opined by Robiul that masterly perfection would still require more practice and patience.
Marufa Akter: Mentorship and Growth in Bowling Skill
She does not stress over bowling in the last overs of the match. Moreover, the bowler seeks inspiration from the experienced campaigner Jahanara Alam, who made her way back into the squad for the Asia Cup. Jahanara advised me to be patient and to continue experimenting with different variations in my bowling, reveals Marufa. With experience, she would naturally become adept at handling the pressures of death bowling. This mentorship is, therefore, important to Marufa and gives her the practical insights and reassurances that she needs as she keeps on improving her skills.
Marufa’s journey to becoming a more effective death bowler is far from over, but she shows no signs of relenting in her efforts to get better at her game. She had been training under Robiul Islam and was seeking the guidance of seniors like Jahanara Alam as part of her growth. As much as she works on those variations and gains confidence, there is hope that Marufa will soon become the complete bowler to take on the new ball, as well as the challenging death overs. The Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team is also expecting much from her and is waiting for a better show in the coming matches.
