Javeria Khan to lead Pakistan's 26-member squad for West Indies tour

Pakistan has named a 26-player contingent for the tour of the West Indies. The 26-player contingent named by Pakistan is set to be divided into the national side and the ‘A’ side upon their arrival in the Caribbean. Javeria Khan will lead the national side. Javeria has played 208 internationals and is the leading run-scorer for Pakistan in women’s ODIs. However, she is yet to register a win as a captain so far. The five upcoming ODIs against West Indies will present her with the perfect opportunity to alter that record. Rameen Shamim, who has played two ODIs and four T20Is, will captain Pakistan Women’s ‘A’ team in the three one-dayers. Wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz, with the experience of 98 internationals will lead the ‘A’ side in the three T20s. Upon their arrival in Antigua, the players and officials will be tested twice in five days, during which they will be under room isolation.

Pakistan’s tour of West Indies will commence on 30 June. The teams will battle it out in three T20Is which will be followed by three ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

“Historic occasion in the history of Pakistan women’s cricket”

The chairperson of the national women’s selection committee, Urooj Mumtaz, said the tour provides an opportunity for the players to cement their positions for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers and T20 World Cup in the 2021-22 window.

“This is a historic occasion in the history of Pakistan women’s cricket as for the first time the national side and the ‘A’ team are travelling together. The Caribbean tour presents a phenomenal opportunity to our core group of cricketers to showcase their performances and further cement places for the 2021-22 season, which promises to be an exciting one for women’s cricket,” she said as quoted by ICC.

“These 26 players have been involved in all our high-performance camps over the past nine months and have put in the hard yards under the national coaching staff led by David Hemp. The group has prepared with high intensity and purpose. They remain focused and determined to put up winning performances. Our last bilateral series with the West Indies produced quality competitive cricket. The closely fought T20I series was witnessed by a passionate crowd of young girls in Karachi. We then went on to record a historic 2-1 ODI series win with an extraordinary fight to come back from behind. I am hopeful that there will be quality cricket on display as we aim to further improve our world standing and continue to push to become top contenders on the world stage,” added Mumtaz.

Squad:

Javeria Khan (captain, national team), Rameen Shamim (one-day captain of ‘A’ team), Sidra Nawaz (T20 captain of ‘A’ team), Aliya Riaz, Aiman Anwar, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Jaweria Rauf, Kainat Imtiaz, Kaynat Hafeez, Maham Tariq, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Nahida Khan, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, and Syeda Aroob Shah.