LAHORE: Led by Bismah Maroof, a 15-member Pakistan women’s squad was named on Friday for the ICC Women’s Championship One-day International series against England followed by as many T20 Internationals in Kuala Lumpur from Dec 9-20.
Chief selector Urooj Mumtaz, who announced the team, made four changes to the ODI squad, who played a home series against Bangladesh early this month.
Batter Kaynat Hafeez and off-spinner Rameen Shamim have earned maiden call-ups while all-rounder Nida Dar and left-arm orthodox spinner Anam Amin have returned. They have replaced Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Sadia Iqbal and Sana Mir. Former Pakistan skipper Sana has taken a break from international cricket.
Aroob Shah, 15, has received a maiden call-up for the T20 squad after making an impressive ODI debut against Bangladesh.
Fatima Sana and Rameen have been recalled after they missed Pakistan’s last T20 assignment, the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh women, due to their participation in the ACC Emerging Women’s Teams Cup.
Nida, who returns after a stint with Sydney Thunder in the Rebel Big Bash League, are also part of the squad.
The three ODIs, part of seventh-round fixture of the ICC Women’s Championship, serve Pakistan, ranked fifth in the eight-team table, with an opportunity to secure direct qualification in the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup by beating second-ranked England.
Pakistan, to date, have played 15 matches in the ICC Women’s Championship. They have won and lost equal number of matches with one of them ending in a tie.
Top four teams by the end of the two-year cycle, which concludes next year, along with the hosts will secure berths in the upcoming World Cup.
The national squad leaves for Malaysia from Karachi on Nov 30.
Squads:
ODI: Bismah Maroof (captain), Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Aroob Shah, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Kaynat Hafeez, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper).
T20: Bismah Maroof (captain), Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Aroob Shah, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Javeria Khan, Nahida Khan, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper)
Officials:
Aisha Jalil (team manager), Syed Iqbal Imam (head coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Gemaal Hussain (strength and conditioning coach), Zubair Ahmed (analyst), Sajida Fajar (physiotherapist), Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi (media manager)
Schedule:
Dec 9: First ODI, Kinrara Oval
Dec 12: Second ODI, Kinrara Oval
Dec 14: Third ODI, Kinrara Oval
Dec 17: First T20I, Kinrara Oval
Dec 19: Second T20I, Kinrara Oval
Dec 20: Third T20I, Kinrara Oval.
Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2019