Photo: AFP
The Pakistan Women’s Squad has been announced for the series against West Indies, with five players making a comeback. The series will be played from April 18 to May 3.
Former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffer, head of the national women’s selection committee, announced the 16-member One-Day and T20 squads for the series against the West Indies women’s team.
Three One-Day matches, which are part of the ICC Women’s Championship, will be played between April 18 and 23, while the five T20 matches will take place from April 26 to May 3. All 8 matches will be played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
For the One-Day series, wicketkeeper Bismah Maroof (67 ODIs, 56 T20Is) has made a comeback, while for the T20s, four players – Ayesha Zafar, Ghulam Fatima, Rameen Shamim, and Tuba Hassan – have returned to the squad. Ayesha, Ghulam Fatima, and Rameen, who are part of the T20 squad, will participate in the Women’s One-Day Tournament starting in Faisalabad from April 17. They will rejoin the national team before the T20 series.
At the end of the One-Day series, Sidra Nawaz, Sadia Shams, and Wahida Akhtar will travel to Faisalabad for the domestic One-Day tournament. Spinner Ghulam Fatima has been given rest to recover fully from the injuries sustained in a car accident.
They were part of the camp of 20 players in Karachi. The second player injured in a car accident, former national women’s captain Bismah Maroof, will undergo fitness tests next week, after which a decision will be made on her selection.
Chief selector Saleem Jaffer said that the selection committee has finalized the 16-member squad for the One-Day and T20 series in consultation with the captain Nida Dar and interim head coach. Five players have returned to the squad due to their performance in the domestic tournament and their good performance in the camp.
The series against West Indies is important for us because it is part of the ICC Women’s Championship and we want to earn as many points as possible in the home series in order to qualify directly for the ICC Women’s World Cup next year.
One-Day Squad
Nida Dar (Captain) Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof (conditional on fitness), Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi (wicketkeeper), Nashra Sandhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Sadaf Shams, Sadiya Iqbal, Sidra Ameen, Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper), Tuba Hassan, Iram Javed, and Waheed Akhtar.
T20 Squad
Nida Dar (Captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Bismah Maroof (conditional on fitness), Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Muneeba Ali (wicketkeeper), Najiha Alvi (wicketkeeper), Nashra Sandhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadiya Iqbal, Sidra Ameen, Tuba Hassan, and Irum Javed.
The timings for the first and second One-Day matches have been changed to April 17 and 21 to avoid a clash with the Pakistan vs New Zealand series. These matches will now start at 9:30 AM.
The third One-Day will start at 3 PM, while the T20 matches will be played at 7 PM. The 16-member One-Day squad will assemble in Karachi on April 13 and participate in a scheduled training session at the National Bank Stadium from April 14 to 17. The West Indies women’s cricket team will arrive in Karachi on April 14.