Ahead of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup, Pakistan faced off against Australia in January in a six-match limited-overs tournament -- three T20Is and three ODIs as part of the ICC Women's Championship. So when the team's management decided to use the same squad for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup as well, it caught the fans by surprise!
The team's chief selector Asmavia Iqbal released a statement which said that the expectations were high for this team, heading into the Australia series and then the Women's T20 World Cup. "I wish luck to the players who have been selected for both the Australia series and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. I am hopeful the side will continue to perform in the same manner they have performed recently in the ACC Women’s Asia Cup and Ireland series,” she said.
"The ODI series against Australia is very crucial, the expectations are high as we have won five of the six ICC Championship matches and our aim is to qualify directly for the 50-over World Cup. We have relied more on the senior players in the formation of the squad for the World Cup and we expect them to use their experience on the field and get positive results for the team," Asmavia added.
The biggest surprise was the inclusion of experienced pacer Diana Baig. Baig had missed their series against Ireland after sustaining a shoulder injury. Against Australia, the 27-year-old only played the ODI series and not the T20I matches. This might indicate the direction that the management is looking to take.
Pakistan will be in Group 2 alongside England, India, Ireland and West Indies. Their first match is against arch-rivals India in Cape Town on February 12.
Pakistan squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan
