PCB announces schedule of Women’s U19 T20 tournament

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board PCB has released the tournament's schedule on Tuesday.

The five-team U19 T20 Women Cricket Tournament 2023 is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, September 13, at the Lahore Country Club in Muridke.

The competition is expected to highlight the extraordinary talent and fervor of young female cricketers from around the country.

Five teams—Challengers, Conquerors, Invincibles, Stars, and Strikers—will compete in the event.

The nine-day tournament will be conducted on a round-robin basis, meaning each team will play at least four matches. The final will be played on 21 September, after the league stage is done.

The opening ball of the match will be bowled at 10:00 PST, and the toss will take place at 09:30 PST.

Moreover, each team will play at least four matches over the nine-day competition, which will be played in a round-robin format. On September 21, following the conclusion of the league phase, the final will be held.

The U19 T20 Women Cricket Tournament 2023 serves as a perfect opportunity for the players to stake a claim in the national U19 side ahead of Pakistan U19 women’s team’s maiden tour to Bangladesh in January 2024.

The PCB has also introduced financial awards to encourage the players to perform at their best, providing additional incentives for them to do so. The victorious team will be awarded PKR 0.5 million, and the losing team will be awarded PKR 0.3 million.

Each participant in the contest will receive PKR10,000, while the one who wins the competition will receive PKR25,000. To motivate players to develop their abilities and further their aspirations in cricket, kit bags will be awarded to the competition's top performances, including the best player, best batter, best bowler, and best wicket-keeper.

The PCB has also finalised the five squads, which consist of 14 players each. These squads have been selected by the national women’s selection committee headed by former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar after country-wide open trials in eight academies last month.

Eleven players have been placed in the reserve pool and they can be called up based on a team’s requirement. Only players born on or after 1 September 2004 are eligible to play in the tournament.

Squads:

Challengers – Mahnoor Aftab (captain), Aleesha Khan, Ezza Nadeem, Fizza Fiaz, Maheen Irfan, Mirab Amin, Muqadas Bukhari, Noor Mehdi, Raahima Syed, Ravail Farhan, Saba Sher, Sumbal Liaqat, Tanzeela Niaz and Widad Iftikhar

Coaching staff – Waqar Orakzai (head coach), Intikhab Alam (assistant coach), Maria Gulnaz (manager) and Tehreem Sumbal (physio)

Conquerors – Zaibun Nisa (captain), Araika Karam, Dina Razvi, Javeria Siddique, Jennifer Basharat, Maham Anees, Malaika Riaz, Memoona Khalid, Muskan Abid, Nasreen Ashraf, Nimra Riaz, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam and Zainab Ishtiaq

Coaching staff – Zulfiqar Babar (head coach), Jaweria Rauf (assistant coach), Asiya Khan (manager) and Laila Niaz Khan (physio)

Invincibles – Haniah Ahmer (captain), Aiza Khan, Hafsa Khan, Haleema Dua Zafar, Humaira, Kainat Gulalai, Khizra Liaqat, Memoona Tippu Sultan, Rimsha Shehzadi, Sana Talib, Sania Rasheed, Tayyaba Imdad, Zarish Farooq Samuel and Zoofishan Ayyaz

Coaching staff – Waseem Yousufi (head coach), Shakir Qayyum (assistant coach), Hajra Baloch (manager) and Izza Idrees (physio)

Stars – Laiba Nasir (captain), Anaya Khan, Arooj Mazhar, Fariha Fahim, Kainat Eman Shah, Komal Khan, Maham Ali, Mahnoor Mamoon, Manahil Khursheed, Mubeen Ahmed, Samiya Afsar, Shehr Bano, Tahira Arif and Zainab Asif Jutt

Coaching staff – Mohsin Kamal (head coach), Nahida Khan (assistant coach), Najma Zafar (manager) and Rabia Siddiq (physio)

Strikers – Kainat Riasat (Captain), Aiman Arooj, Aleesa Mukhtiar, Aman Fatima, Aqsa Yousuf, Areesha Ansari, Attiya Noor, Esha Tir Razia, Hasnat Ibrahim, Ifrah Tufail, Noor Ul Ain Idrees, Rida Sajid, Sawera Ishaq and Taskyn Fatima

Coaching staff – Hajrwa Sarwar (head coach), Rehmat Gull (assistant coach), Shagufta Kazim (manager) and Rabbia Kamray (physio)

Reserve players – Angelina Khurram, Asma Tauqeer, Eman Liaqat, Kiran Qadir, Mahnaz Bibi, Mahnoor Rani, Meerab Shahid, Qandeel Mohsin, Sana Khan, Widia Iftikhar and Zoha Yousaf

Tournament schedule (all matches at Lahore Country Club, Muridke) matches begin at 10 am

13 Sept –Invincibles v Stars (Ground 1); Conquerors v Challengers (Ground 2)

14 Sep – Stars v Conquerors (Ground 1); Challengers v Strikers (Ground 2)

16 Sep – Invincibles v Conquerors (Ground 1); Stars v Strikers (Ground 2)

17 Sep – Invincibles v Strikers (Ground 1); Stars v Challengers (Ground 2)

19 Sep –Conquerors v Strikers (Ground 1); Invincibles v Challengers (Ground 2)

21 Sep – Final