Bangladesh women’s cricket has found a ‘new kid on the block’. Her name is Marufa Aktar. Marufa has already stolen the limelight. The speedster’s brilliant bowling, especially the controlled swing and correctness in length, helped Bangladesh to earn a convincing victory against Pakistan in their opener at Premdasa Stadium in the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup.

A fan of Australian great Mitchell Starc, Marufa has chosen a fitting role model. Adding to her team’s momentum, her in-swinger to right-handers left Pakistan gasping when she removed Omaima Sohail and the in-form Sidra Amin off successive deliveries, reducing them to ruins in the very first over. The effort drew praise from several leading voices in world cricket, including Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga, who posted a clip of her twin strikes with the words: “Pure skill, excellent control. So far, she had the best delivery in this tournament.” This remarkable moment was a far cry from her humble beginnings.

But initially, life was not easy for Marufa. The dream to establish her as a cricketer was distant. One of her mentors in Bangladesh cricket, Arifa Jahan Bithi, a cricketer-turned-coach, posted videos showing that wearing a yellow puffer jacket, Marufa and her father are seen ploughing their paddy field. By then, she had already been scouted, but the pandemic halted training and funding, threatening to end her career before it began. Though Arifa never formally trained her, she has remained a constant supporter and sounding board.

Marufa was a wiry teenager who roared at every wicket and hurled herself at the ball in the field. The passion remains, but the foundation has strengthened—built on structured fitness, power training, and technical refinement. That shift came under the guidance of Bangladesh’s former strength and conditioning coach Ian Durrant. Her newfound discipline and growing strength soon started to show results.

“Earlier, I used to bench press 25–30kg. Now I do around 42–44kg, and squats with 30–35kg have now gone up to 60kg,” an excited Marufa said in a video shared by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. This increase in strength contributed to her growing impact on the field.

The young pacer made a strong early impression, finishing as Bangladesh’s top wicket-taker at the 2023 U-19 T-20 World Cup and putting in notable performances at the 2022 Asian Games.

While speaking to Sportstar, Arifa Jahan exclaimed, “Marufa has a background of working very hard in the fields since childhood. She is a good athlete, a natural athlete, and that amount of hard work is normal for people like her, and has held her in good standing. Watching her remove those two batters in the first over gave me goosebumps. That kind of pace bowling I have not seen from a player from this nation.”