ON the back of a disastrous World Cup campaign, the Twenty20 and One-Day International series wins against Sri Lanka for the Pakistan women’s team are not only morale-boosting but inspiring as well. Pakistan had lost six of their seven matches at this year’s ODI World Cup and a strong response was needed against the Sri Lankans, even if their opponents had failed to reach the World Cup. It was an emphatic one. A clean sweep of the three-game T20 series last week was followed by victory in the ODI series, featuring the same number of matches, by a game to spare. Good results always help and in this case, with the ODIs being part of the ICC Women’s Championship which is part of the 2025 World Cup qualifying cycle, these are crucial to Pakistan’s ambitions of qualifying directly for the tournament. Even more so, they might help in securing the future of the women’s team. A number of schoolgirls were in attendance at the Southend Club in Karachi to watch the team in action and saw sterling performances from youngsters Tuba Hassan and Ayesha Amin, taking Pakistan to victory in the opening two T20s. Leg-spinner Tuba showed her effervescence with the ball in the first game, picking up four wickets, while batter Ayesha guided Pakistan home in the following match. It was opening batter Sidra Ameen who was instrumental in Pakistan sealing the ODI series triumph, hitting a sparkling century in the second match. Others chipped in too, including skipper Bismah Maroof, spinner Ghulam Fatima and all-rounder Fatima Sana.

With the PCB eager to increase the country’s talent pool by holding countrywide trials, strong performances will attract more women to the game. A number of girls in attendance at the matches spoke about their desire to represent the national team in the future. It’s now a question of harnessing that interest. A larger talent pool is also crucial to PCB’s plans of holding a women’s edition of the Pakistan Super League. That will hopefully take women’s cricket in the country to the next level, providing the platform for the emergence of a new generation of stars. The PCB should, however, ensure that the women players get a bigger stage to showcase their talents. And instead of the obscure Southend Club, the National Stadium should be the venue to stage women’s internationals. That’s a move that will ensure that women cricketers get the same spotlight as their male counterparts.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2022