ISLAMABAD – Skipper Bismah Maroof is excited to lead Pakistan in the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup saying the squad has a good blend of senior and junior players.
The upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia would see Bismah lead Pakistan for the first time in a global event. Bismah has led Pakistan in 36 T20s and was the only batter from Pakistan to have more than 2,000 runs, while she also has the most number of half-centuries (11) in the shorter version of the game, said a press release issued here.
Pakistan would kick off its World Cup campaign on February 26 against the West Indies Women. They take on England on February 28 after which they play South Africa and Thailand on March 1 and 3.
Speaking to PCB digital, Bismah said it was a big responsibility to lead your country in such an event but, so far, I have been enjoying my role as a captain.
“I am quite excited to lead this squad which has a good mix of senior and junior players. In Javeria Khan and Nida Dar, we have the experienced players who share a good number of World Cup appearances between them.
“Javeria has been performing really well and Nida’s experience will prove beneficial for us. In Omaima Sohail, we have a young middle-order batter who is growing with every match. In Iram Javed and Aliya Riaz, we have big-hitting batters.
She said Muneeba Ali has been an outstanding performer. “She recently scored a century in the domestic T20 event and her numbers were outstanding. Overall, we have a group of batters who have done well and they can take responsibility of taking the team forward,” she said.
“Diana Baig has been bowling really well with the new ball and Aimen Anwar is making a comeback after a year. Aimen had bowled well in the West Indies series last year which gave me an impression at that time that we have a reliable T20 bowler coming up. I am excited with the prospect of using her, especially after how she has shown good rhythm in the recent T20 tournament.
“Youngsters like Syeda Aroob Shah, Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal have been performing really well since their debuts for Pakistan in the last year. We have named uncapped Ayesha Naseem and there is a lot of excitement in the team on her inclusion as she has the ability to hit big.
She said our team has grown in the last two years and we look forward to continuing to grow over the course of the World Cup. “The team is well-balanced and looks in good shape. I am hopeful that we will put up positive results,” she said.
