Hosts Pakistan announce squad for ICC Women’s World Cup qualifier next month – Sport

Hosts Pakistan on Wednesday named a 15-member squad for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers set to take place in Lahore from April 9 to 19, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a press release.

The six-team ICC event, which includes Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and West Indies alongside hosts Pakistan, will feature a single-league round-robin format with the matches taking place at the Gaddafi Stadium and LCCA ground in Lahore.

The tournament will decide the two qualifiers for the 2025 Women’s World Cup to be held later this year in India.

Pakistan, however, will be playing their matches at a neutral venue after a “fusion” model was decided upon following India’s refusal to play its matches in Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.

The tournament will be the first outing for the women’s team since October of last year, when they played New Zealand in their last group encounter in the Women’s T20 World Cup. The side had lost the match 54 runs on that occasion.

“The squad was selected after the selection committee evaluated players’ fitness and form in the ongoing second phase of preparation camp, where the players took part in warm-up matches and practice sessions,” PCB said.

Sana, who has led Pakistan in six Twenty20 internationals and two One Day internationals (ODIs), will continue to lead the women’s cricket team in the 50-over event.

Meanwhile, Shawaal Zulfiqar has made a comeback to the national side after suffering from a shoulder injury during a tour of New Zealand in December 2023, where the team got their maiden victory against the Kiwis.

On April 11, Pakistan will play Scotland at the LCCA ground in a day game, while the hosts will take on West Indies in a day-night fixture on April 14 at the Gaddafi Stadium, PCB said in its press release.

Pakistan will face Thailand in their fourth fixture of the event scheduled on April 17 in a day-night fixture at Gaddafi Stadium, while their final group stage match will be against Bangladesh on April 19 at the LCCA ground, which will be a day match.

Pakistan fixtures for day matches will begin at 9:30am and day/night matches at 2pm, the PCB said.

Earlier this week, it came to light that the base payment for women dome­stic cricketers announced by the PCB earlier this month is even less than the minimum wage set for unskilled workers in the country.

Earlier in the month, the PCB had announced women’s domestic contracts for 90 players for the season 2024-25 — including 18 U-19, 62 emerging category and 10 capped players.

“In addition to the domestic contracts, the emerging and U-19 players will also receive a match fee, daily allowance, and a share in prize money,” the PCB had stated.

Although the monthly retainer amount has not been publicly disclosed, Dawn had learnt that the amount is below the minimum wage set for unskilled labourers at Rs37,000 for this fiscal year.

There has also been no increase in the match fees, which remain the same as last year despite the inflation that has occurred over the previous 12 months.

Squad: Fatima Sana (captain), Muneeba Ali (vice-captain), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Gull Feroza, Najiha Alvi (wicket-keeper), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper) and Syeda Aroob Shah.

Reserve players: Ghulam Fatima, Waheeda Akhtar and Umm-e-Hani.

Player support personnel: Hina Munawar (manager), Muhammad Waseem (head coach), Junaid Khan (assistant coach bowling), Abdul Rehman (assistant coach spin bowling), Abdul Saad (assistant coach fielding), Waleed Ahmed (analyst), Muhammad Rafi Ullah (media manager), Muhammad Ramzan (strength and conditioning coach), Tehreem Sumbal (physiotherapist) and Kiran Shahzadi (masseuse).

Schedule for Pakistan matches