Bangladesh's women's cricket team will play a bilateral one-day international series in Australia for the first time this month. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named a 16-member squad for the tour on 30 September, with Nigar Sultana Joty continuing as captain.

The three matches are part of the ICC Women's Championship and will be played at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on 9, 11 and 14 October.

New faces and returns

Two players in the squad have yet to play an ODI: Disha Biswas, a pace-bowling allrounder, and Habiba Islam Pinky. Both earned their first call-ups to the 50-over side for this tour.

Opening batter Murshida Khatun returns to the national team for the first time in about 20 months, having last played for Bangladesh on the West Indies tour in January 2025. Sanjida Akter Meghla and Dilara Akter are also back in the squad.

David Hemp appointed head coach

The tour will be the first assignment for David Hemp as head coach of the women's team. The BCB has given the 55-year-old former Bermuda batter a two-year contract running until September 2028. He will join the squad in Brisbane and takes over from Sarwar Imran, who had been in charge since February 2025.

Hemp already knows the players. He worked as batting coach with the side at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal this year and was part of the coaching staff at the Women's ODI World Cup Qualifier in Pakistan in 2025.

He joined the BCB in May 2023 to run its High Performance programme and later served as batting coach of the men's national team from 2024. His experience in women's cricket includes two years as head coach of Pakistan's women's team from 2020 to 2022, and spells with Victoria Women and the Melbourne Stars in the Women's Big Bash League.

Why the series matters

Bangladesh have met Australia in global tournaments, but a full bilateral ODI series in Australia gives a young squad a longer run against one of the strongest sides in the women's game, in conditions they rarely see. The matches also carry points in the ICC Women's Championship, which is used to decide direct qualification for the next Women's ODI World Cup.

Several of the players were part of the squad that played at the Asian Games in Japan last month, where Bangladesh reached the semi-finals of the women's cricket event.

Sources: tigercricket.com.bd