Nahida Akter's journey comes full circle at the Women's World Cup

Nahida Akter vividly remembers the first time she met Salma Khatun. She was just 15 and her hands were trembling.

Salma blazed a trail for Bangladesh in women's cricket. She was their first captain in international cricket, and at the time of her last T20I in July 2023, their most capped player in the format. Now, she is Bangladesh's first woman selector.

"When I broke into the national team, I played under Salma Khatun, a legend of Bangladesh cricket," Nahida tells ESPNcricinfo in Guwahati. "Watching her up close only deepened my love for the game. The growth of Bangladesh women's cricket owes a lot to her, and I feel fortunate to have started my journey under her leadership.

"The way she guided me is beyond words. My mother, father and brother were at home, but on the field, Salma looked after me like family. She made sure I stayed on the right path, and even today, if I make a mistake, she corrects me and helps me learn from it."

Nahida happens to be the one performing those roles now. Two days out from their second match of the Women's World Cup, against England, she was the one guiding fellow left-arm spinner Sanjida Akter Meghla through her routines, and talking to legspinners Shorna Akter and Rabeya Khan about bowling grips and the right areas to target. It's been a great 10 years.

Nahida has grown to become Bangladesh's leading wicket-taker across formats and is the vice-captain of the team now.

She was born in Kishoreganj, a city about 100 kilometres away from Dhaka. But with her father working as a government officer, she has always lived in the capital. Until about 2012, Nahida knew little about cricket. She saw boys in her neighbourhood play but wouldn't join them. Not until she started watching Bangladesh men's internationals on the telly with her brother.

After being rejected once, Nahida finally cleared the entrance exam to join Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education, BKSP) in 2013, a residential academy where around 25 different sports are taught. That is where she played cricket with a leather ball for the first time.

"Initially, I loved batting. But my coaches Mehdi Hasan and Dolly Dey saw something different in me," Nahida says. "They thought I could become a good bowler. At that point, I couldn't even rotate my arm properly to bowl. Back home, most of the cricket we played was soft-ball, short-format games where you didn't have to bowl with a full action. My coaches literally held my arm and taught me how to bowl. They worked tirelessly to make me a proper bowler."

While she was part of the BKSP squad that had seniors like Sharmin Akhter and Fargana Hoque, Nahida had to wait for her time. In the second year, she got her chance and showed her mettle with five wickets in her first match against Abahani. She finished with 18 wickets in that season and that resulted in a call-up to the national camp. But Nahida couldn't attend. She had to sit her board exams.

"At that point, I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get another chance [to play]," she says. "To return to that level, I knew I'd have to perform again. That phase taught me the value of comebacks and the importance of mental strength. I realised that in sport, the only way back is through performance. I returned to BKSP, worked harder, performed better, and got called back to camp. This time, I was ready and in 2015, I finally earned my place in the Bangladesh national team."

Given Nahida's quick rise, her initial years in international cricket were not just about performance but also about learning. Salma aside, she observed how allrounder Rumana Ahmed trained and played.

"Watching players like Salma di taught me how to raise my own game and become useful to the team. I was especially inspired by how calm she and Rumana remained, even when the team had conceded a lot of runs. That composure strengthened my own mindset.

"Cricket is a game where one good ball can change everything. You have six balls in an over, if a few don't go well, there's no point over-thinking. Focus on bowling that one good delivery. That's something I learned from them."

Nahida looked up to a couple of other left-arm spinners as well - Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath: "Shakib bhai's bowling is outstanding but I admire his mindset and aggression. I study Herath to improve my craft."

What is the secret behind her jersey number 32, then?

"I've always admired Glenn Maxwell," Nahida laughs. "That's why both my jersey and locket carry the number 32. His fielding is world-class, and watching him play gives me energy. I could have chosen 75, but that's Shakib bhai's number. Out of respect, I didn't take it. No one can take his place. He is one of our legends in Bangladesh cricket."

Despite having a storied career, Salma played only one ODI World Cup - in 2022 when Bangladesh were first-timers. At just 25, Nahida is already into her second. She is also among the select few in the current squad that can draw from the experience of bowling in India. She has played three T20Is in the country. Only legspinner Fahima Khatun, among the bowlers, has played an ODI here.

"From the senior players, I learned how to adapt to situations, how to change plans according to conditions, which delivery to bowl when, and how to plan against a batter," Nahida says. "Most of these lessons came directly from Salma di. This is my second World Cup, and my mindset is clear - I'm the team's lead spinner, and I have to make a bigger impact. It's a challenge, but not a burden. I want people to say Bangladesh reached this stage because of their bowlers."

Nahida has risen through various setbacks. Her family was ridiculed for letting a girl play cricket. She herself was subject to many taunts even in the secure colony they lived during her father's employment in the government. But now that she is one of the flag-bearers of Bangladesh's women's cricket, the journey feels worth it.

"If my brother Nazim Ahmed hadn't been by my side, I don't think I'd be where I am today. From developing my game to strengthening my mindset, his influence has been immeasurable. My mental resilience and hunger to learn, they all come from him."