The national women’s selection committee Monday announced a 26-player squad from which the national and ‘A’ teams will be selected for white-ball matches on the tour of the West Indies.
Javeria Khan, who has experience of 208 international matches and is the leading run-getter for Pakistan in ODIs, will lead the national side. Rameen Shamim, who has played two ODIs and four T20Is, will captain Pakistan Women’s ‘A’ in the three one-dayers and wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz, with the experience of 98 internationals, will lead the ‘A’ side in the three T20s.
The Pakistan national women’s team will play West Indies in three T20Is and five ODIs and the ‘A’ side will take on their counterparts in three one-day matches and three T20s. All 26 players will be available for selection for 14 matches.
Urooj Mumtaz, the chairperson of national women’s selection committee, said: “This is an historic occasion in the history of Pakistan women’s cricket as for the first time national side and the ‘A’ team are traveling together.
“The Caribbean tour presents a phenomenal opportunity to our core group of cricketers to showcase their performances and further cement places for the 2021-22 season, which promises to be an exciting one for women’s cricket. These 26 players have been involved in all our high performance camps over the past nine months and have put in the hard yards under the national coaching staff led by David Hemp. The group has prepared with high intensity and purpose. They remain focused and determined to put up winning performances.
“The ‘A’ team matches are a great incentive and motivation for the players at the periphery to stake a claim in the national side, as exceptional performances will be rewarded by players getting bumped up to the national side and those who are unable to perform at the top can continue to get competitive matches in the ‘A’ side. Our last bilateral series with the West Indies produced quality competitive cricket. The closely fought T20I series was witnessed by a passionate crowd of young girls in Karachi. We then went on to record a historic 2-1 ODI series win with an extraordinary fight to comeback from behind. I am hopeful that there will be quality cricket on display as we aim to further improve our world standing and continue to push to become top contenders on the world stage.”
The 26-player contingent, the coaching staff and the team officials, arrived in Lahore in morning today. They will depart for Antigua via London in the wee hours of Wednesday, 23 June.
The touring contingent will undergo pre-departure Covid-19 tests by Monday afternoon and those testing negative will board the plane. Upon their arrival in Antigua, the players and officials will be tested twice in five days, during which they will be under room isolation.
Pakistan squad for the tour: Javeria Khan (captain, national team), Rameen Shamim (One-Day captain, ‘A’ team), Sidra Nawaz (T20 captain, A team), Aliya Riaz, Aiman Anwar, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Jaweria Rauf, Kainat Imtiaz, Kaynat Hafeez, Maham Tariq, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Nahida Khan, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, and Syeda Aroob Shah
Team management: Aisha Jalil and Fizza Abid (managers), David Hemp (head coach), Arshad Khan (bowling coach), Kamran Hussain and Waqar Orakzai (assistant coaches), Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach), Zubair Ahmed (analyst), Rabia Siddiq and Saima Naseem (physiotherapists), and Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi (media manager)
Tour itinerary:
23 June – Departure for Antigua
24-27 June – Room Quarantine
28-29 June – Practice
30 June – 1st T20I between national sides and 1st T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
2 July – 2nd T20I between national sides and 2nd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Coolidge Cricket Ground
4 July – 3rd T20I between national sides and 3rd T20 between ‘A’ teams at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
7 July – 1st ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground
9 July – 2nd ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground
10 July – 1st one-day between ‘A’ sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
12 July – 3rd ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
13 July – 2nd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground
15 July – 4th ODI between national sides at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
16 July – 3rd one-day between ‘A’ sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground
18 July – 5th ODI between national sides at Coolidge Cricket Ground
19 July – Departure for Pakistan