I had acting offers for two movies, but I declined them: Jahanara Alam

For Bangladesh fast bowler Jahanara Alam, cricket is a priority and she doesn’t want to focus on any other aspects, which she reckons, can distract her. The women’s speedster is inclined towards cricket to the extent that she declined two offers to act in movies. The 27-year-old tried her hands at dramatics and was showered with offers thereafter.

Jahanara made her debut for the Tigresses back in 2011 and has 88 wickets from 108 matches. The Khulna-born is among the leading wicket-takers for her national team along with the likes of Rumana Ahmed and skipper Salma Khatun. Because of her love for cricket, Jahanara didn’t have second thoughts about turning down the offers to act in films.

I don’t wish to focus on anything else: Jahanara Alam

“Don’t wish to go into acting. I love cricket so much that I can’t even think about anything else. After a lot of requests, I acted in drama. You can say, I did it for change of taste. After that, I got plenty of offers in dramatics,” Jahanara was quoted as saying in Anandabazar.

“I also had acting offers for two movies, but I declined them. I don’t wish to focus on anything else otherwise, I might get diverted and that is something I can’t let happen,” she stated.

Apart from her cricket, Jahanara also hogged the limelight due to the eyeliners she wore while playing in the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The attention made Jahanara overwhelmed. “I couldn’t believe that there would be so much talks on my eyeliners. I wear Kajal since I started playing cricket in 2008. But during the World Cup, it came into attention,” she added.

From the cricketing point of view, Jahanara didn’t have a great time. She started with a four-wicket haul against Pakistan in Brisbane in the warmups. However, in the three matches in the main round, the woman prodigy couldn’t pick up a single wicket.

In the match against India in Perth, Shafali Verma took her to the cleaners, taking advantage of the field restrictions. Jahanara was also a part of the Mithali Raj-led Velocity in the 2019 Women’s T20 Challenge. There he cleaned up Sophie Devine and Natalie Sciver in the final.