Jahanara Alam facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name |
Jahanara Alam
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| Born | 1 April 1993 Khulna, Bangladesh |
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| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium pace | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| ODI debut (cap 2) | 26 November 2011 v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 17 December 2022 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 2) | 28 August 2012 v Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 21 February 2023 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008/09 | Khulna Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009/10–2017/18 | Sylhet Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Velocity | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021/22–present | Northern Zone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 21 February 2023
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Jahanara Alam (Bengali: জাহানারা আলম) is a famous Bangladeshi cricket player. She was born on April 1, 1993. Jahanara is a right-arm medium-pace bowler and a right-handed batter. She plays for the Bangladesh women's national cricket team.
Jahanara helped her team win a silver medal in cricket. This happened at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. They played against the Chinese team.
Contents
Early Life and Cricket Journey
Jahanara Alam grew up in Khulna, Bangladesh. She went to Pioneer Girls High School. When she was about 13 years old, she played both handball and volleyball for her school. She lived far from school and traveled there by rickshaw. This trip took about 40 to 50 minutes.
How Jahanara Started Cricket
Jahanara's interest in sports caught the eye of Sheikh Salahuddin. He was a cricket player and coach for the Khulna Division men's team. He lived across from her school. Jahanara often traveled to school in sports clothes, unlike other girls. Salahuddin noticed her and asked if she wanted to play cricket. She said yes right away.
At first, Jahanara didn't know much about cricket rules. But she heard that Bangladesh would soon have its own women's team. This made her excited to try out.
Family Support and Challenges
Jahanara's parents supported her. Her father told her to come home before evening prayers and to always make the family proud. Her grandmother was even more supportive. She would take Jahanara to and from her matches.
Jahanara's first cricket tryouts were not good. But her coach saw that she had natural talent and was very fit. After practicing for a month, she became a fast bowler. Soon after, she was the best bowler in a tournament, taking 13 wickets. This led to her being called to the national training camp.
Her quick success in cricket brought some challenges. Some people in her area told her father that she should focus on studies and get married. They did not want her to play cricket because she was a girl. But her father defended her. He said she was not doing anything wrong and he supported her.
Finding Inspiration
Jahanara did not have a role model at first. For her first two years in cricket, she didn't follow the game much. Then, one of her coaches showed her videos of Brett Lee. He suggested she try to bowl like Lee to get more speed and swing. After that, she started watching players from different countries. But her main cricket hero is Mashrafe Mortaza.
Jahanara's Cricket Career
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Jahanara first played for the national team during a Hong Kong tour of Bangladesh in March 2008. When she was chosen, she asked her father if she should play or take her exams. He told her she might only get one chance to play for her country, but she would have many chances to pass her exams.
Early Success and Recognition
So, Jahanara played in all four matches of the unofficial 50-over series. In the last match, at Mirpur Stadium, she took a hat-trick. This means she took three wickets with only three balls she bowled in one over. This was a big deal.
After her hat-trick, there was a lot of excitement. Her picture was on the front page of the newspaper. People started to see her differently. They called her the pride of Khulna and the pride of Bangladesh.
International Debut and Achievements
Jahanara played her first One Day International (ODI) match against Ireland on November 26, 2011. She made her Twenty20 International (T20I) debut against India on August 28, 2012.
In June 2018, she was part of the Bangladesh team that won their first ever Women's Asia Cup title. They won the 2018 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup tournament. Later that month, she was chosen for Bangladesh's team for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament.
On June 28, 2018, she became the first bowler from Bangladesh to take a five-wicket haul in WT20Is. This happened in a match against Ireland.
In October 2018, she was picked for Bangladesh's team for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies. She was the top wicket-taker for Bangladesh in that tournament, getting six wickets in four matches. After the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named her the best player in her team.
Recent Tournaments
In August 2019, she was part of Bangladesh's team for the 2019 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in Scotland. In November 2019, she was chosen for the cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games. The Bangladesh team won the gold medal by beating Sri Lanka by two runs in the final. In January 2020, she was named in Bangladesh's team for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.
In November 2021, she was selected for Bangladesh's team for the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe. In January 2022, she was one of three reserve players for Bangladesh's team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Cricket Qualifier tournament in Malaysia. Later that month, she was named in Bangladesh's team for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
Jahanara Alam was also part of the Bangladesh squad for the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
