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LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Nida Dar has been left out from the outfit’s 15-member squad for next month’s ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, which was announced by the country’s cricket board on Wednesday.
The side will be led by all-rounder Fatima Sana, who carried out the role in in last year’s T20 World Cup as well.
Nida could not find a place in the side despite having her name in the list of 19 probables announced for pre-tournament training camp. The 38-year-old’s. 15-year long international career spanning over 112 One-day Internationals and 160 T20Is, seems to have come to an end in an unceremonious way.
It is understood that Nida had lost the support of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) management, despite her impressive record over the years.
With her leg-spin, Nida has hunted down 108 victims, while scoring 1690 with the bat.
In the T20Is, she played 160 matches grabbing 144 wickets at an impressive average of 20, besides also scoring 2051 runs.
Nida was not given a central contract announced recently for the 2025-26 period. However, another seasoned campaigner, Aliya Riaz, who was also not considered for the central contract, was picked for the Qualifier.
Similarly, Sidra Nawaz and Shawal Zulifqar, who also failed to get a central contract, were selected in the 15-member squad.
Meanwhile, Ghulam Fatima, Waheeda Akhtar and Umm-e-Hani were named as reserve players.
The six-team ICC event, which includes Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and West Indies alongside hosts Pakistan, will feature a single-league round-robin format. Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and LCCA ground will host 15 matches of the event, with Pakistan playing Ireland in the opening match of the competition at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Squad: Fatima Sana (captain), Muneeba Ali (vice-captain), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Gull Feroza, Najiha Alvi (wicket-keeper), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper), Syeda Aroob Shah
Reserve players: Ghulam Fatima, Waheeda Akhtar and Umm-e-Hani.
Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2025
