By Md Mamun Islam
 
RANGPUR, July 9, 2025 (BSS) - Cricketer Arifa Jahan Bithi, once forced to quit the national team due to a nose injury, has made a remarkable contribution to the development of women's cricket by founding the country's first free cricket academy for girls.
 
With the aim of producing skilled female cricketers for the country, she established the 'Women's Dreamer Cricket Academy (WDCA)' at the Rangpur Stadium seven years ago. 
 
Around 320 aspiring young women from the northern region have already received or are receiving cricket training at her academy without any fees. 
 
Many of them have been admitted to the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) or are playing first-class cricket in the country. 
 
Talking to BSS, Arifa Jahan Bithi recounted the story behind her decision to establish WDCA by fighting poverty and spending everything she had, even taking out a loan through her mother Majeda Begum, 55.
 
An indomitable young girl, Bithi, who grew up in Nurpur, Rangpur city, is the third of four siblings. 
 
Despite a childhood plagued by poverty, she had an endless interest in cricket and other sports from her adolescence.
 
Her father, Mofizul Islam, 60, was the only bread-earner in their poor family. He worked at a local petrol pump. When he lost his job, the family became helpless. To manage the family, Bithi's mother opened a grocery shop next to their house.
 
Seeing her mother's suffering, Bithi used to run the grocery store in her spare time after school.
 
Bithi completed her secondary and higher secondary education at Rangpur Government Begum Rokeya College.
 
After passing HSC, her family wanted to marry her off. But Bithi resisted and chose instead to devote herself to the development of women's cricket.
 
"I want girls not to be left behind. Let the girls come out of the clutches of child marriage and live their dreams," Bithi said.
 
Bithi got deeply fascinated by cricket while she was studying in Salema Girls High School located at the Gupta Para area of the city.
 
She participated in inter-school cricket tournaments. After that, she was admitted to the Panthakunja Cricket Academy in Dhaka city. Subsequently, Bithi enrolled in the Rangpur district cricket team in 2011 and 2012. 
 
She started playing professional cricket in 2012 and played Dhaka Premier League and First Division cricket. Bithi played as an opening batsman for Orient Sporting Club, Kalabagan and Rayer Bazar teams. 

But her career had to end in 2017 due to a nose injury although she had the potential to go far. 
 
But as per suggestions of the doctors, she had to quit cricket due to the nose injury. Even though she quit the game, Bithi did not quit cricket.
 
She returned to cricket and trained the Bangladesh Wheelchair Women's Cricket Team for the first time in her coaching career in 2018. 
 
She also ran a six-day training camp in Brahmanbaria district and coached the Urban School and College Cricket Team in Dhaka for about a month and a half in the same year. 
 
Later, she established 'Women's Dreamer Cricket Academy' on October 26, 2019 at Rangpur Stadium to utilize her experience to produce skilled female cricketers for the country.
 
She got 30 trainee female students from Salema Girls' High School, Samajkallyan Bidyabithi School and College, Mariyam Nesa Girls' High School and several other educational institutions in Rangpur city. 
 
And thus, cricketer Bithi started Bangladesh's first free cricket academy for women with the aim of promoting women's cricket. 
 
This cost her all the money she had saved. After learning this, her mother took a loan of Taka 20,000 from an NGO to support her daughter. 
 
With that money, Bithi bought cricket materials and started her academy's journey. 
 
Since cricket can be learned for free at this academy, the number of students has rapidly increased from 30 to 320 today. Training is held there from 3pm to 5pm, six days a week except Fridays. 
 
Bithi said, "Now, girls are ahead in all fields. I will always work to take girls forward. My dream is that my academy will help teach cricket to talented and underprivileged girls to make them brave and confident." 
 
In addition, she hopes that national team cricketers will emerge from her academy and play for the country and represent Bangladesh on the international stage through cricket. 
 
After ending her cricket career, Bithi wanted to study law to save the people. But, she has finally stood by the people as a cricketer.