After undergoing a 10-day camp at the Lahore Country Club, Muridke and three days of intense practice and preparations in Sylhet, Bangladesh, Pakistan are ready for action with their first match of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup taking place tomorrow against Malaysia at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS).
Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan are eager to showcase their talent, skill and temperament in the shortest format of the game. The seven-team tournament follows a round-robin format where each team will play the other once before the top four sides qualify for the semi-finals. The final of the tournament will be played on 15 October. Pakistan will take on defending champions and hosts Bangladesh on 3 October whereas the game against arch-rivals India is scheduled on 7 October.
Pakistan finished on the third spot in the last edition of ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2018-19.
Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof: “The conditions here are the same as at home, the pitches will help the spinners. We will try to make full use of the conditions and get our momentum going and start on a winning note.
“The tournament’s format gives us a number of matches, providing us a great help to prepare for next year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. We are not going to take any team lightly and try to execute ourselves well to win tomorrow’s match.”
Right-handed batter Sidra Amin is included in the side as an opener in place of out-of-form Iram Javed. Commenting on her inclusion in the side and pairing up with Muneeba Ali, Bismah said, “We have tried a new pair in the opening position, I hope Sidra performs, her runs at the top will give stability to the batting order which can contribute in the team’s win.”
The tournament matches will be broadcast live on PTV Sports. Toss for the Pakistan and Malaysia clash will take place tomorrow at 0730 PKT while the first ball will be bowled at 0800 PKT.
Squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Nashra Sundhu, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hasan
Reserve players: Natalia Pervaiz, Umme Hani and Waheeda Akhtar
Support staff: Ayesha Ashhar (team manager), Saleem Jaffer (bowling coach and interim head coach), Mauhtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Muhammad Zubair Ahmad (analyst) and Rifat Gill (physiotherapist).
Pakistan’s fixtures:
2 October – v Malaysia
3 October – v Bangladesh
6 October – v Thailand
7 October – v India
9 October – v UAE
11 October – v Sri Lanka