The national women’s selection committee has announced that Fatima Sana will captain Pakistan in the upcoming ACC Emerging Women’s T20 Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in Hong Kong next month. The 14-player squad, which includes four players who participated in the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, has been carefully selected after evaluating performances in the T20 phase of the Pakistan Cup Women’s Cricket Tournament and an emerging camp held in Multan in March.
Fatima Sana, who has represented Pakistan in 31 One-Day Internationals and 24 T20 Internationals, earned the captaincy role based on her exceptional leadership during recent domestic tournaments. Leading the Strikers to victories in all three matches in the aforementioned tournament and successfully guiding the Blasters to a T20 Championship win in Lahore in December, Fatima’s leadership credentials impressed the selectors.
The squad for the ACC Emerging Women’s T20 Asia Cup includes Anoosha Nasir, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Gulrukh, Lubna Behram, Najiha Alvi (wk), Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, and Yusra Amir. Reserves for the squad are Amber Kainat, Dua Majid, Fatima Khan, and Rameen Shamim.
Pakistan has been placed in Group A alongside Hong Kong, India A, and Thailand A for the tournament. Their campaign will kick off on June 13 with a match against Thailand A, followed by matches against Hong Kong and India A on June 15 and 17, respectively. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals scheduled for June 19, with the final set to be held on June 21.
Chief selector Saleem Jaffar expressed his congratulations to all the selected players, acknowledging the challenging decision of choosing the final 14 from a pool of exceptional talent. Jaffar encouraged those not selected for this tournament to persevere and continue working hard, assuring them of future opportunities in upcoming events. He praised Fatima Sana’s leadership skills and expects her to lead the team by setting an example.
Fatima Sana herself expressed her honor in captaining Pakistan for the upcoming tournament, acknowledging the responsibility as an opportunity to further develop her skills. She conveyed her excitement for leading a team full of energetic players, stating that the Pakistan Cup Women’s Cricket Tournament provided valuable match practice against strong sides. Fatima highlighted the team’s determination to make the most of the upcoming matches and praised the contribution of every player in the squad.
The emerging team will commence their pre-tournament camp on Thursday at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance center and will continue until June 8. They are scheduled to depart for Hong Kong on June 9.
Player support personnel for the team include Aisha Jalil as the manager, Mohsin Kamal as the head coach, Muhammad Kamran Hussain as the assistant coach, Muhammad Usman Shahid as the analyst, and Rabia Siddiq as the physiotherapist.
The national women’s selection committee comprises Asmavia Iqbal, Marina Iqbal, and Mohtashim Rashid, who played pivotal roles in finalizing the squad for the ACC Emerging Women’s T20 Asia Cup.
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