Tag: Pakistan Women Team

LAHORE: PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has urged the Pakistan women’s team to play fearless cricket at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, starting September 30 in India.

Mohsin Naqvi visited the Gaddafi Stadium following the conclusion of the Pakistan ODI series against South Africa.

Naqvi handed over the trophy to South Africa’s captain after the conclusion of the series and later met Pakistan women’s team players and coaches. He lauded the team’s performance and praised their fighting spirit.

The PCB chairman announced a cash prize of PKR 2 million for opener Sidra Amin in recognition of her back-to-back centuries during the series. In addition, all members of the women’s team will receive PKR 1 million each.

Wishing the team success ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup, Naqvi urged the players to play fearlessly and without pressure.

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“Fight till the last ball. Success is always the result of teamwork,” he remarked.

For context, Pakistan will depart for Sri Lanka tomorrow to play the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. The mega event is scheduled to take place from 30 September to 2 November.

Pakistan will begin its campaign against Bangladesh on October 2 and will play all its games at R. Premadasa ICS, Colombo, at 3pm local time.

Pakistan team fixtures in ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025

• 2 October – vs Bangladesh
• 5 October – vs India
• 8 October – vs Australia
• 15 October – vs England
• 18 October – vs New Zealand
• 21 October – vs South Africa
• 24 October – vs Sri Lanka

READ: Mohammad Wasim backs Pakistan to shine at Women’s World Cup 2025

LAHORE: Pakistan women team head coach Mohammad Wasim expressed confidence on his side ahead of the ICC World Cup 2025 co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India.

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is scheduled to take place from 30 September to 2 November.

Ahead of the marquee event, Wasim remained confident despite Pakistan’s 2-1 loss to South Africa in the three-match ODI series concluded today.

“We have full confidence in our batters, and after today’s performance, the bowlers will also take a lot of confidence heading into the World Cup,” he told reporters.

“In the first two matches, the wickets were spin-friendly, similar to conditions in Sri Lanka. Ideally, it would have been good to prepare accordingly, but the positive side is that we will play at one venue, which gave us a bit of a home advantage,” he added.

He said that the ODI format suits the Pakistan women’s team and emphasized the outcome of the series, highlighting key areas for improvement.

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“As I’ve said before, this format is best suited to our team, and you could see that in the qualifiers. Small margins make the difference.

That’s an area we need to improve—finishing close matches and holding our nerve in crunch situations. Hopefully, before the World Cup, we’ll get opportunities to sharpen that aspect, especially against varied opposition, ” Mohammad Wasim continued.

Mohammad Wasim talked about mental strength and praised Sidra Amin, who was outstanding with the bat against South Africa, scoring 293 runs in three matches with the help of two centuries and a half-century.

“We have batting, bowling, and fielding coaches, but mental strength is also very important. If needed, we will definitely consider bringing in experts to help players in that area.”

“Sidra Amin’s two centuries and a fifty show the kind of performances our players are capable of. We are heading in the right direction as a team,” he concluded.

For context, Pakistan will begin its campaign against Bangladesh on October 2, and will play all its games at R. Premadasa ICS, Colombo, at 3pm local time.

Pakistan team fixtures in ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025

• 2 October – vs Bangladesh
• 5 October – vs India
• 8 October – vs Australia
• 15 October – vs England
• 18 October – vs New Zealand
• 21 October – vs South Africa
• 24 October – vs Sri Lanka

READ: Six-star Sandhu seals consolatory win for Pakistan over South Africa

Pakistan women’s team left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal retained the top spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I bowlers rankings as the cricket governing body released updated rankings on Tuesday.

Sadia played a crucial role in the Green Shirts’ undefeated run during the recent ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers held in Lahore.  With her exceptional performances, Sadia Iqbal was named in the team of the tournament, taking nine wickets at an impressive average of 16.

The 29-year-old made headlines in 2024 by becoming the first bowler from Pakistan to top the ICC rankings.

Sadia Iqbal took three wickets in an outstanding performance against Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka during the T20 World Cup opener, eventually earning her the prestigious top position in the ICC rankings.

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On the back of that match-winning performance, she subsequently became the first Pakistani woman bowler to top the ICC rankings.

Along with Sadia, the national team skipper, Fatima Sana, and veteran all-rounder Nida Dar climbed the rankings ladder.

Sana advanced to 13th position in the all-rounder rankings after moving one spot ahead, while Dar also improved one place, moving to 33rd in the bowlers ranking.

“Pakistan spinner Sadia Iqbal remains at the top of the list for T20I bowlers, but it’s tight at the top with just 44 rating points separating the top 10 players,” the ICC statement said.

Meanwhile, no Pakistan batter could feature in the top 20 rankings. Australia’s Beth Mooney held firm in the top spot with 794 points, while West Indies’ Hayley Matthews is next to her with 774 points.

India’s batting maestro Smriti Mandhana has moved into third place, overtaking Australia’s Tahlia McGrath.

With batting, bowlers’ rankings also saw changes with Australia’s Annabel Sutherland advancing to the second spot after overthrowing India’s Deepti Sharma. England’s Lauren Bell also climbed two places to reach fourth position.

READ: THIS player likely to replace Shadab Khan as T20I vice-captain: reports

LAHORE: Pakistan women cricketers are gearing up for a blockbuster international season with an intense training here at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.

The training aims to enhance the players’ skillset and sharpen their fitness levels ahead of the upcoming international assignments.

The national side’s next assignment will be the tour of Ireland, where they are scheduled to play a three-match T20I series in Dublin from August 6 to 10.

Following the Ireland series, Pakistan Women will participate in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, scheduled from September 30 to November 2. The team will play all their matches in Sri Lanka.

While speaking on the sidelines of the training session, all-rounder Aliya Riaz stated that they are putting in a strong effort.

“We’re working hard to represent Pakistan in the best way possible,” said Aliya Riaz.

Spinner Nashra Sandhu highlighted the boost in morale within the squad after Sadia Iqbal topped the ICC Women’s T20I bowling rankings.

“It’s a proud moment for all of us to see our teammates reaching such milestones,” Nashra said.

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Sadia, who has been a standout performer with the ball, said staying calm under pressure has been the key to her success, while crediting the coach for her success.

“I try to stay composed even in pressure situations. Training with the men’s players in the camp has helped refine my bowling further,” she said.

For the unversed, the ICC Women’s World Cup is all set to kick off on September 30, with hosts India facing joint-hosts Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. The month-long event will span across five venues — Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore, Visakhapatnam, and Colombo.

The Pakistan women cricketers will begin their World Cup 2025 journey on October 2 against Bangladesh, before taking on India in what promises to be a blockbuster clash on October 5.

They will then face Australia (Oct 8), England (Oct 15), New Zealand (Oct 18), South Africa (Oct 21), and Sri Lanka (Oct 24) in a packed league stage.

As for the knockouts, the first semi-final is scheduled for October 29 in Guwahati or Colombo, while Bengaluru will host the second semi-final on October 30.

The final will be played on November 2 in Bengaluru, unless Pakistan qualify, in which case the summit clash will shift to Colombo.

READ: Pakistan set to face India on THIS date in WCL 2025

KARACHI: Pakistan women’s team started their preparations for the T20I and ODI series against the South Africa women’s team, with the training camp organized at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

Former test cricketer and women’s team’s batting coach Taufiq Umar is supervising the camp, and helping the players train at their best to prepare for the upcoming series.

A scenario-based match was organized between the players, giving the batsmen and bowlers different targets to prepare for different situations during the match.

Pakistan’s under-13 and under-16 men’s cricketers also participated in the camp and trained along with the women’s team.

The training camp will conclude on August 27, while the South African team will arrive in Pakistan on the same day.

The three T20I series will be played on September 1, 3 and 5 at the National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi. Meanwhile, the ODI series will commence on September 8.

South Africa squad for ODIs and T20Is:

Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder, Lara Goodall, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Delmi Tucker, Laura Wolvaardt.

Pakistan T20I squad:

Nida Dar (c), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah and Umm-e-Hani

Reserves – Anoosha Nasir, Omaima Sohail and Waheeda Akhtar

Pakistan ODI squad:

Nida Dar (c), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Reserves – Najiha Alvi, Natalia Parvaiz and Tuba Hassan

Player support personnel: Nahida Khan (manager), Mauhtashim Rashid (interim head coach), Kamran Hussain (bowling coach), Taufiq Umar (batting coach), Muhammad Asfand Yar (strength and conditioning coach), Zubair Ahmed (analyst), Rifat Asghar Gill (physiotherapist) and Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager).

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BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan women’s team skipper Bismah Maroof lauded the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Commonwealth Games management’s role in taking good care of her infant daughter while disclosing that it was not easy to travel along with the baby. 

Speaking to this reporter, Bismah claimed that the face-off against the arch-rivals was always exciting and the team tried its best to win the tough matches.

“Matches against India were always exciting and entertaining,” she said. ” We lost the tough games yet we tried our best to win those matches”

Pakistan Women’s hopes of winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 have been dashed after they were defeated by Barbados in their first match and then faced a crushing by India by 8 wickets the other day. The Green Shirts currently sit last in their group.

“We know that we fell short of people’s expectations but in the future, we’ll perform well” she added.

Talking about her work-life balance with regard to her daughter’s care while participating in the event, Bismah said that her mother helped a great deal in taking care of her baby.

“My mother has accompanied me at the event and she assists greatly in caring for the child,” she said.

“PCB and Commonwealth Games management have provided immense support in taking care of my daughter” she added.

“It is not easy to travel with the baby yet we try our best that we do not have to face any difficulty” she concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Bismah had already travelled with her daughter and mother to New Zealand for the ICC Women’s World Cup held earlier this year thanks to the PCB’s maternity policy.

READ: England women beat Germany to end major tournament wait at Euro 2022