LAHORE – The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) will finalize a 17-member national women’s team in September to play a five-match Twenty-20 series against their Nepalese counterpart when the visitors will tour Pakistan in December.
Talking to state-media, PBCC Director Bilal Satti said Phase-I of the training camp of women blind cricket players will kick off at Abbottabad from Saturday and will continue till July 5.
“A total of 32 female players and 9 coaches will be supervised by head coach Nafees Ahmed in the camp and will be taught regarding rules, techniques and methods of game,” he said.
He said Nafees had also coached national men’s team to victory in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. “Phase-II of the camp will take place in Lahore in September in which the next group of 35 more women players will be trained. After the camp a 17-member team will be finalized for the series against Nepal,” he said.
The Nepal team had also committed to tour Pakistan in 2014 but the plan could not be materialized as PBCC did not get the required Rs three million grant from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to host the series.
The players have been shortlisted in B1, B2 and B3 categories from seven cities including Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Attock, Bahawalpur and Gujranwala.
The players comprise Rabbia Shahzadi, Saba Gul, Tayyaba Zafar, Farmina Sher, Reena Sher, Rabia Javed Hashmi, Robina Aslam, Mubeen Javed, Bushra Zahoor, Sumiya Mumtaz, Aqsa Arif, Sadia Khalid, Arzoo, Aqsa Tabassum, Maria Arshed, Kiran Shahzadi, Nimra Rafique, Saba Shaukat, Kiran Rafique, Sajida Bano, Anum Zakir, Anila Rasheed, Tayyaba Fatima, Maria Zakir, Hawra Murtaza, Laiba Ghanyani, Maria Bibi, Amina Bibi, Shabnam Sharif, Iqra Inayat, Munaza Ilyas and Bushra Shahzadi.
