The 15-member Pakistani team, captained by Fatima Sana, that will compete in the ICC Women’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka on Monday featured uncapped batter Eyman Fatima, who recently made her debut for her country in the T20Is in Ireland.
In May, the right-handed batter Eyman had shown promise in Pakistan’s National T20 competition.
In addition to Eyman, six other players are scheduled to make their first appearances at the ODI World Cup: Natalia Parvaiz (8 ODIs, 24 T20Is), Rameen Shamim (8 ODIs, 11 T20Is), Sadaf Shamas (15 ODIs, 12 T20Is), Sadia Iqbal (27 ODIs, 50 T20Is), Shawaal Zulfiqar (3 ODIs, 9 T20Is), and Syeda Aroob Shah (2 ODIs, 15 T20Is).
21-year-old Shawaal, 20-year-old Eyman, and 20-year-old Aroob all played for Pakistan in the first-ever ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in 2023.
According to a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), all-rounder Sana will continue to captain the team and will be hoping for a strong showing in the international mega-event that will take place from September 30 to November 2.
Sana, 23, who played for Pakistan in the last women’s World Cup, will be captaining the team for the first time at the major competition. She has previously captained the team in this year’s women’s World Cup qualifier.
The 15-man team that participated in the ICC Qualifiers has undergone two alterations. Gull Feroza and Najiha Alvi, who were included in the five-member non-traveling reserves together with Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, and Waheeda Akhtar, are replaced by Eyman and Sadaf in the team.
In April of this year, Pakistan earned a spot in the competition.
The team won all of their games, including wins over Bangladesh and the West Indies, and finished first in the qualifiers.
All of Pakistan’s group-stage games will be held in Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium. If Pakistan advances to the semi-final on October 29 and the final on November 2, both games will be played in Colombo.
From September 16 to 22, the same team will play in a three-match ODI series against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Starting on Friday, the 15 players and five reserves will participate in a 14-day pre-South Africa series camp.
Practice sessions and 50-over practice matches will be conducted for the players, who will be coached by Muhammad Wasim. On September 12, the women’s cricket squad from South Africa will land in Lahore.
Pakistan Squad: Fatima Sana (c), Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (vc), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Syeda Aroob Shah
Non-traveling reserves: Gull Feroza, Najiha Alvi, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar
