Pakistan women’s cricket team squad for the series against Australia and the ICC T20 World Cup 2023 has been officially announced.
A Look Back at the Achievements of this year
The cricket team had a really good run this year because they not only defeated the arch-rivals India but also successfully reached the final of the Asia Cup. Unfortunately, they could not get hold of the trophy but the true potential of the team and its capabilities was seen. This could be further confirmed when the girls defeated the guest team, Ireland.
The Return of Injured Players
Pakistan cricket has seen numerous of its stars getting injured. From the men’s team, it was Shaheen and from the women it was Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal, and Tuba Hussain. Luckily, Diana has recovered from the shoulder injury while Sadia’s hand injury and Tuba’s index finger injury have also been healed and they both have earned a place in the white ball squads. Bismah Maroof would be leading the team.
Big Series before the all-important World Cup
The team would play three ODI and three T20is in Australia. This would turn out to be great practice for the cricketers before the ICC World Cup.
Pakistan women’s cricket team squad for the ODI series against Australia is as follows:
Bismah Maroof (c), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz (wk)
Pakistan women’s cricket team squad for the T20i series and the World Cup is as follows:
Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan.
Chief Selector Asmavia Iqbal
Chief Selector Asmavia Iqbal also shed light on the selection of the Pakistan women’s cricket team squad and what she expects the team to do.
“I wish luck to the players who have been selected for both the Australia series and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. I am hopeful the side will continue to perform as well as they did in the ACC Women’s Asia Cup and the Ireland series. The ODI series against Australia is very crucial; the expectations are high as we have won five of the six ICC Championship matches. Our aim is to qualify directly for the 50-over World Cup.
She also talked about how the return of previously injured players is a good sign and the advantages of having two wicket-keepers.
“We have relied more on the senior players in the formation of the squad for the World Cup and we expect them to use their experience on the field and get positive results for the team. The return of Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal and Tuba Hassan will give a boost to the side and will strengthen our bowling attack which has the capability to do well. Sidra Nawaz has been added as our second wicketkeeper in the squad to give Muneeba Ali some space to express herself more with the bat, and gives an added option to the captain to utilize the services of a second wicketkeeper on the long tour.”
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