The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has congratulated the women cricketers on qualifying for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The team made a direct entry into the event as they stood 7th in the ICC T20I Team Rankings as of 1st April 2021, & the top 8 teams qualify as part of the rules.
This is the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games that women’s cricket has been considered as an event. And additionally, all the matches will hold T20 international status giving a boost to the game. As England is hosting the event, they’ve also made a direct entry to the tournament. Apart from Pakistan, Australia, India, West Indies, South Africa, and New Zealand will also be a part of the CWG 2022.
“The Commonwealth Games provide Pakistan women’s cricketers with the opportunity to play against the best, in front of a global audience. This will not only give our national team worldwide recognition but will also enable us to use this profile and exposure to inspire and attract more young girls to take up the game in Pakistan. Besides enhancing the profile of our women cricketers, Commonwealth Games will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to our players to interact and learn from professional athletes from other sports during their time in the athletes’ village,” said Wasim Khan, Chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The PCB will now be planning for a practice and training session for the women cricketers to prepare them for the event. “I want to compliment the ICC and its ICC Women’s Committee for aggressively and proactively working on the inclusion of women’s T20 in the Commonwealth Games. I also want to thank the Commonwealth Games Association of Pakistan for supporting the inclusion of the Pakistan women’s side’s by accepting the invitation from the event organizers,” he added.
Pakistan’s Nida Dar is delighted at the women team’s qualification for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.#CWG2022 @CoolNidadar pic.twitter.com/V7qJTPgOc3
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 26, 2021
The sportspersons and athletes have been affected a lot due to the pandemic as all their tournaments and championships were canceled. Even now, many athletes are unable to access sporting facilities. Women’s cricket, globally, has been affected very badly because many teams all over the world haven’t played an international match for over a year now.
Pakistan’s star cricketer and all-rounder Nida Dar, looking forward to being a part of CWG 2022, agreed to the same as she said- “We play this great game to represent our country at the highest platform and in women’s cricket, there is no bigger stage than the multi-sport Commonwealth Games in which we can show our prowess and talent. I can’t wait to get to Birmingham to demonstrate to the world what we are capable of in one of the most competitive, demanding, and skillful sports. Obviously, there is another incentive of meeting my favorite players and athletes from around the world besides top cricketers from other sides, which further increases my excitement.”
The Cricket tournaments at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 are set to begin from July 29, 2022, shortly after the Women’s World Cup, with the final gold medal match being played on August 7, 2022, at Edgbaston.
I’m a Senior Masters student pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication. An all time Cricket enthusiast. I could never play the game but always loved watching it, and now writing about it!