The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its 15-player squad for the inaugural Women’s Under-19 T20 Asia Cup, scheduled from December 15 to 22, 2024, in Malaysia. Their squad for the six-team tournament, organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), features several standout performers from Pakistan’s 2024 National Women’s Under-19 T20 Tournament, who have been rewarded with call-ups.
According to a PCB media release, the squad was finalized after a comprehensive 21-day skills and fitness camp involving 32 players. The camp, held earlier this month, included three intra-squad matches and followed the conclusion of the National Women’s Under-19 T20 Tournament in October and November 2024.
Keeper-batter Komal Khan, the leading run-scorer in the National T20 Tournament with 236 runs from nine outings at a strike rate of 128.26, has earned her spot in the U19 Asia Cup squad. Wasifa Hussain has also been included in the squad and will most likely serve as the backup keeper-batter.
The wicket-keeping duo will be joined by promising top-order batters Ravail Farhan (140 runs from nine outings), Fizza Fiaz (128 runs from eight outings), and Areesha Ansari (107 runs from seven outings) from the National T20 Tournament, along with Maham Anees and Zoofishan Ayyaz. Notably, the second-highest run-scorer of the competition, Samiya Afsar, has missed out on a spot here.
The leading wicket-takers from the National T20 Tournament, Tayyaba Imdad (13 wickets from nine outings) and Quratulain (12 wickets from nine outings), will shoulder the spin-bowling responsibilities. They will be supported by Rozina Akram and Aleesa Mukhtiar, providing depth and reliability to the spin department.
Fatima Khan (nine wickets from nine outings and 53 runs from five innings) and Shahar Bano (seven wickets and 48 runs from seven outings) are the two promising pace-bowling all-rounders in the squad. They will be joined by pacers Haniah Ahmer and Mahnoor Zeb, rounding out a well-balanced pace attack. In the bowling departments, the top wicket-takers from the National competition, Minahil Javid and Laliba Nasir, have also not made the cut.
Pakistan Women’s Squad for U19 Women’s T20 Asia Cup:
Zoofishan Ayyaz (C), Areesha Ansari, Fizza Fiaz, Maham Anees, Ravail Farhan, Komal Khan, Wasifa Hussain, Aleesa Mukhtiar, Quratulain, Rozina Akram, Tayyaba Imdad, Fatima Khan, Haniah Ahmer, Mahnoor Zeb, Shahar Bano.
Pakistan will open its campaign at the ACC U19 T20 Asia Cup against India on the opening day (December 15). Drawn in Group A, they will next face Nepal (December 16) in the single round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, followed by the third-place playoff and final, with a fifth-place playoff also slated.
Following the U19 T20 Asia Cup, the second edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled in Malaysia, from January 18 to February 2, 2025. Pakistan missed out on qualifying for the knockouts of the inaugural U19 T20 World Cup in 2023 and will hope for a better finish this time around.
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