The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will begin on Tuesday, September 30.
Pakistan will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on Thursday, October 2. It qualified for the forthcoming mega event after maintaining a 100 per cent win record. The record maintained in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier held in Lahore earlier this year.
Before the tournament, Pakistan featured in a three-match ODI series in Lahore against South Africa, which the latter won 2-1. In the upcoming ICC event, seven players are set to feature in their maiden ODI World Cup. These players included Eyman Fatima (1 ODI, 3 T20Is), Natalia Parvaiz (11 ODIs, 24 T20Is), Rameen Shamim (11 ODIs, 11 T20Is), Sadaf Shamas (15 ODIs, 12 T20Is). And Sadia Iqbal (29 ODIs, 50 T20Is), Shawaal Zulfiqar (4 ODIs, 9 T20Is) and Syeda Aroob Shah (3 ODIs, 15 T20Is)
Pakistan will play all their group-stage matches at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. Should Pakistan qualify for the October 29 semi-final and the November 2 final, then both the matches will take place in Colombo.
Fatima Sana:
“Our preparations for the World Cup have been focused and purposeful. We have worked on the areas where improvement was needed, and it is encouraging to see the progress we have made. This process really started in the Qualifiers, where we had a strong campaign. We won all our matches to secure our place in this mega event.
“The players have shown great commitment in the training session here in Colombo. The conditions are quite similar to back home in Pakistan, which has helped the squad adjust quickly.
“Wearing the Pakistan shirt is an honour and every player in this squad understands the responsibility that comes with it. We aim to play positive cricket, rise to the big moments and make Pakistan proud, InshaAllah. We are all looking forward to the tournament.”
15-member squad:
Fatima Sana (captain), Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (vice-captain), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper) and Syeda Aroob Shah
Pakistan team fixtures:
2 October – vs Bangladesh
5 October – vs India
8 October – vs Australia
15 October – vs England
18 October – vs New Zealand
21 October – vs South Africa
24 October – vs Sri Lanka
