Asad shafiq in the tour. | © Twitter (@Cricket360)
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) changed the national women’s selection committee, making it bigger with seven members. The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi decided this after Pakistan lost all three games in the ODI series against West Indies at home.
The new selection committee includes some members from the old one, like Asmavia Iqbal and Marina Iqbal, who used to play for Pakistan. Also, Abdul Razzaq and Asad Shafiq, who were on the men’s national selection committee, are now part of it. Batool Fatima, a former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter, is also joining. The head coach and captain, Mohtashim Rasheed and Nida Dar, will also be on the committee. Saleem Jaffar, who was part of the committee, is not in it anymore.
The first job of the new selection committee is to choose the team for Pakistan’s upcoming tour of England. From May 11 to 29, they’ll play three T20Is and three ODIs as part of the ICC ODI Women’s Championship 2022-25.
Currently, Pakistan ranks fifth on the women’s championship table. They’ve won eight matches and lost 13 out of 21 ODIs. Australia, South Africa, England, and New Zealand are ahead of them. The top five teams and host India will go straight to the 2025 ODI Women’s World Cup. The other teams will need to compete in a qualifier tournament.
Pakistan had a rough start in the ODI series against West Indies, losing the first match by 113 runs. The second game was close, with Pakistan narrowly losing by two wickets. Unfortunately, they faced another defeat in the third ODI by 88 runs. Hayley Matthews from the West Indies shone brightly in the series, scoring 140*, 44, and 141 in the three matches, totaling 325 runs with an impressive average of 162.50. She also shared the title of leading wicket-taker with Dar, both picking up six wickets.
Next up for Pakistan is a five-match T20I series against West Indies, starting on April 26 and ending on May 3, all matches to be held in Karachi. Following this, they’ll head to England for a series of T20Is, with the first match set for May 11 in Birmingham.
Women’s National Selection Committee:
Abdul Razzaq
Asad Shafiq
Asmavia Iqbal
Batool Fatima
Marina Iqbal
Captain
Head Coach
