Five women Cricketers recalled in Pakistan’s white-ball squads

ISLAMABAD, Apr 9 (APP): A total of five women cricketers have been recalled to the white-ball squads as the National Women’s Selection Committee, led by Saleem Jaffar, announced 16-member ODI and T20I squads against West Indies women’s team on Tuesday.

The three ODIs – part of ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 – would be played between April 18 and 23, while five T20Is will take place from April 26 to May 3. All eight matches will be played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi, said a press release.

For the ODI series, wicketkeeper-batter Sidra Nawaz (67 ODIs, 56 T20Is), who last featured for the Pakistan women’s team in the ODI series against South Africa in Karachi in September 2023, has been recalled.

For T20Is, four players – Ayesha Zafar (29 ODIs, 20 T20Is), Gull Feroza (2 T20Is), Rameen Shamim (3 ODIs, 4 T20Is), and Tuba Hassan (selected in both squads) (1 ODI, 21 T20Is) – have been recalled. Ayesha last featured for Pakistan in the T20I format against South Africa in 2021, Gull Feroza’s last outing for the Pakistan women’s team in the T20I format was against Sri Lanka in 2022, while Rameen’s last T20I match was against South Africa in 2019. Tuba, who made her ODI debut against Australia in 2023, last appeared in the T20I format against England in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023.

Ayesha, Gull Feroza, and Rameen, who are part of the T20I squad, will participate in the National Women’s One-Day Tournament commencing in Faisalabad on 17 April. Before the T20 series, the three players will rejoin the national team squad.

After the ODI series, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Nawaz, and Waheeda Akhtar would move to Faisalabad to take part in the domestic one-day tournament.

Resting leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima, who participated in the 20-player camp in Karachi, will allow her to fully recover from the minor injuries she sustained in a freakish car accident last week. Bismah Maroof, who was also involved in the same accident, will undergo a fitness test next week before the selectors decide on her selection.

Pakistan women squad for ODI includes Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof*, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar.

Pakistan women’s squad for T20I comprises Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Bismah Maroof*, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan and Umm-e-Hani.

The 16-member ODI squad would assemble in Karachi on April 13 to feature in the training sessions scheduled from April 14 to 17 at the National Bank Stadium. West Indies women’s cricket team would arrive in Karachi on April 14.