Women’s cricket will be a part of the upcoming Commonwealth Games that will be played in July in England this year. Eight teams will participate in the Commonwealth Games, out of which seven have already qualified. There is just one place for which the Qualifiers will be played among five teams. The five teams that will lock horns against each other for that one spot are Bangladesh, Kenya, Malaysia, Scotland and Sri Lanka. The Qualifiers will see T20 matches being played. Malaysia will host the event between January 18 and January 24. All the five teams have announced their squads.
Here’s a look at Malaysia’s squad:
Winifred Duraisingam (c), Nik Nur Atiela, Sasha Azmi, Aisya Eleesa, Mas Elysa, Ainna Hamizah Hashim, Jamahidaya Intan, Wan Julia (wk), Dhanusri Muhunan, Nur Arianna Natsya, Nur Natasya Nazira, Amalin Sorfina, Elsa Hunter, Yusrina Yaakop, Wan Nor Zulaika, Mahirah Izzati Ismail, Noor Hayati Zakaria
Malaysia Welcomes Team Sri Lanka Bangladesh, Scotland, Kenya https://t.co/CUSJH6pmG3 pic.twitter.com/TRQPtPpbgH
— Malaysia Cricket (@MalaysiaCricket) January 11, 2022
Winifred Duraisingam:
She is the captain of Malaysia. She is a right-handed batter and a right-arm seamer. She has featured in 23 T20Is for Malaysia between 2018 and 2021. She has scored 287 runs, including the best of 66 not out. She is the second leading run-getter for Malaysia in T20Is. With the ball, she has scalped 16 wickets in 21 innings, including the best of 3-10. She is the second leading run getter and wicket-taker for Malaysia in T20Is. Since the day she made her debut, she has been leading the team.
Nik Nur Atiela:
She is a right-arm-off spinner, who has featured in seven T20Is for Malaysia between 2018 and 2021. She has picked up three wickets, including the best of 2-13. She is also more than a handy lower-order bat. She is a right-handed batter and has the best score of 11 not out.
Sasha Azmi:
She is an all-rounder, who made her international debut for Malaysia in 2018. Between 2018 and 2019, she played 10 T20Is. She scored 50 runs in nine innings and scalped six wickets in eight innings. She has not played international cricket since March 2019.
Aisya Eleesa:
She is a right arm seamer who has featured in six T20Is for Malaysia, having made her debut in 2018 against Singapore. She has accounted for six wickets in as many innings, including the best of 3-11. She is a right-handed lower-order bat.
Mas Elysa:
She is the second-most experienced player in the Malaysian line-up. She has played 25 T20Is between 2018 and 2021. She is a right-handed batter and a right arm leg spinner. She has mustered 369 runs, including the best of 43 not out and has picked up 16 wickets in 19 innings, including the best of 6-3. She has the best bowling figures in an innings by a Malaysian woman and the third-best overall. She is the leading run getter and wicket-taker for Malaysia in T20Is.
Ainna Hamizah Hashim:
She is a right-arm seamer, with an experience of 24 T20Is under her belt. She has 12 wickets in 23 innings to her name and with the bat she has registered 70 runs in 11 innings, including the best of 37 not out. She is a right-handed batter. She made her debut in 2018 against India.
Jamahidaya Intan:
She is an all-rounder, who is a right-handed batter and a right-arm speedster. She has featured in 18 T20Is for Malaysia between 2018 and 2019. Since September 2019, she has not played international cricket. In her brief career so far, she has scored 116 runs in 15 innings, including the best of 27 not out and accounted for four wickets in 13 innings.
Wan Julia:
She is a wicket-keeper and a right-handed batter. She has played 22 T20Is, since making her debut in 2018 against Sri Lanka. She has scored 285 runs in 20 innings, including the best of 45 not out. She has accounted for nine dismissals, including six catches and three stumpings.
Dhanusri Muhunan:
She has played just one T20I for Malaysia in 2018 against Bangladesh. However, in that match, she neither got a chance to bat nor a chance to bowl. Since that match, she has not featured in any T20I for Malaysia. She is a right-handed batter and a right arm seamer.
Nur Arianna Natsya:
She is a left arm spinner, who has featured in 18 T20Is for Malaysia since 2018. She has picked up 12 wickets, including the best of 3-25. She is a left handed batter, who bats lower down the order.
Nur Natasya Nazira:
She plays as a bowler in the Malaysian line-up. She made her debut in 2018 against Singapore. She has three wickets in four innings. Since 2018, she has not played any international cricket.
Amalin Sorfina:
She is a right handed batter and a right arm off spinner. She has played just the one T20I for Malaysia in 2018 against Singapore. In that match she picked up one wicket and scored five runs with the bat. After that she has not played any international fixtures.
Elsa Hunter:
She is a right handed batter who has been a part of 15 T20Is for Malaysia since making her debut in 2019 against Nepal. She has scored 184 runs, including the best of 42 not out. She is a top order batter.
Yusrina Yaakop:
She is the most experienced player in the Malaysian team having been around since 2018 and representing the country in 26 T20Is. She is a right handed batter and has scored 222 runs in 24 innings, including the best of 38. Malaysia will bank on their most experienced player in the tournament.
Wan Nor Zulaika:
She is a right arm speedster, who has played 15 T20Is for Malaysia from 2018 to 2021. She has scalped seven wickets in 15 innings, including the best of 2-29. She made her debut against Singapore in 2018 and was last seen playing during the ICC Women’s World T20 Asia Qualifiers.
Mahirah Izzati Ismail:
She is a right-handed batter and a right-arm-off spinner. She has mustered 48 runs in nine T20I innings and accounted for seven wickets in six innings, including the best of 3-8. She has the second-best bowling figures in a T20I innings by a Malaysian woman.
Noor Hayati Zakaria:
She is an all-rounder in the Malaysian team. She is a right-handed batter and a right-arm seamer. She has featured in 17 T20Is between 2018 and 2021. She has scored 52 runs in 11 innings and picked up six wickets in 12 innings.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.