Five women cricketers make comeback to Pakistan's white-ball squads for West Indies series

Karachi: Five women cricketers have been recalled to the white-ball squads as the National Women’s Selection Committee, led by Saleem Jaffar, announced 16-member ODI and T20I squads against West Indies women’s team.

The three ODIs – part of ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 - will be played between 18 and 23 April, while the five T20Is will take place from 26 April to 3 May. All eight matches will be played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

For the ODI series, wicketkeeper-batter Sidra Nawaz (67 ODIs, 56 T20Is), who last featured for Pakistan women’s team in the ODI series against South Africa in Karachi in September 2023, has been recalled.

For T20Is, four players – Ayesha Zafar (29 ODIs, 20 T20Is), Gull Feroza (2 T20Is), Rameen Shamim (3 ODIs, 4 T20Is) and Tuba Hassan (selected in both squads) (1 ODI, 21 T20Is) – have been recalled. Ayesha last featured for Pakistan in the T20I format against South Africa in 2021, Gull Feroza’s last outing for the Pakistan women’s team in the T20I format was against Sri Lanka in 2022, while Rameen’s last T20I match was against South Africa in 2019. Tuba, who made her ODI debut against Australia in 2023, last appeared in the T20I format against England in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023.

Ayesha, Gull Feroza and Rameen, who are part of T20I squad, will participate in the National Women’s One-Day Tournament commencing in Faisalabad from 17 April. Before the T20I series, the three players will rejoin the national team squad.

At the conclusion of the ODI series, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Nawaz and Waheeda Akhtar will move to Faisalabad to take part in the domestic one-day tournament.

Leg-spinner Ghulam Fatima, who was part of the 20–player camp in Karachi, has been rested so that she can fully recover from the minor injuries she sustained in a freakish car accident last week.  Bismah Maroof, who was also involved in the same accident, will undergo a fitness test next week before a decision on her selection is made.

Saleem Jaffar, Chief Selector: “The selection committee, in consultation with captain Nida Dar and interim head coach, has finalised 16-member squads for the ODI and T20I series. Five players in the squads return due to their performances in the domestic tournament and good skills they demonstrated in the camp.

“The series against the West Indies is important for us as the ODIs are part of ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25. We are aiming to secure maximum points in the series, taking advantage of our home conditions, to enhance our chances for direct qualification for next year’s ICC Women’s ODI World Cup.

“The series against the West Indies also presents an opportunity for the players to showcase their skills and secure berths for next month’s England tour. The ongoing domestic one-day tournament continues to provide chances to players not involved in the series against the West Indies to produce strong performance and stake claims for places for the England series.”

Pakistan women squad for ODI:

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof*, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Pakistan women squad for T20I:

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Bismah Maroof*, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan and Umm-e-Hani

*Subject to fitness

Player support personnel: Saira Iftikhar (manager), Mauhtashim Rashid (interim head coach), Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Hanif Malik (fielding coach), Muhammad Javed (strength and conditioning coach), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager), Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist), Zubair Ahmed (analyst) and Nadia Arif (masseuse)

START TIMING OF 18 AND 21 APRIL ODIS:

In order to facilitate local fans to witness live action of the women’s series on their television screens, the series will be broadcast live on A Sports HD. The matches will also be live-streamed on Tamasha, after consortium of Tamasha and Trans Group FZE acquired the rights for the series.

Also, to avoid clashes with the Pakistan v New Zealand Men’s T20I series scheduled during the first and second ODIs between Pakistan and West Indies women’s teams, the PCB management has rescheduled the timings of women’s matches. They are now scheduled to start at 9.30am. The third ODI will begin at 3.30pm, while the first ball in the T20Is will be bowled at 7.30pm.

The 16-member ODI squad will assemble in Karachi on 13 April to feature in the training sessions scheduled from 14 to 17 April at the National Bank Stadium. West Indies women’s cricket team will arrive in Karachi on 14 April. The media advisory of the series will be shared in due course.

Series schedule:

18 Apr – First ODI at National Bank Stadium (NBS), Karachi (0930am local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

21 Apr – Second ODI at NBS (0930am local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

23 Apr – Third ODI at NBS (1530 local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

26 Apr – First T20I at NBS (1930 local time)

28 Apr – Second T20I at NBS (1930 local time)

30 Apr – Third T20I at NBS (1930 local time)

2 May – Fourth T20I at NBS (1930 local time)

3 May – Fifth T20I at NBS (1930 local time)