Pakistan announces squad for ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named a strong fifteen-member squad ahead of the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 which is scheduled to begin on 14th January 2023.

Who does Pakistan have their warm-up matches scheduled against?

Pakistan has warm-up matches scheduled against Ireland on the 9th of January and New Zealand on the 11th of January. They will be the favourites to qualify from their group and will certainly aim for a top-three finish.

Which Group is Pakistan a part of in the Group Stages?

Pakistan is a part of Group B and is placed along the likes of Rwanda, Zimbabwe and England.

What do the Fixtures look like for Pakistan?

Who comprises the squad?

Aroob Shah (c), Aliza Khan, Anosha Nasir, Areesha Noor, Eyman Fatima, Haleema Azeem Dar, Haniah Ahmer, Laiba Nasir, Mahnoor Aftab, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Warda Yousaf, Zaib-un-Nisa, Zamina Tahir

Reserves: Aqsa Yousaf, Dina Razvi, Maham Anees, Muskan Abid, Tahzeeb Shah

Takeaways

• Skipper Aroob Shah has already donned the Pakistani colours for the senior side and has made seven international appearances so Pakistan will be backing her to come good.

• Eyman Fatima and Shawaal Zulfiqar are other stars to watch out for and are exceptional spinners.

• The players for the squad were selected after their performances in the Women’s U19 Tournament at Lahore which served as an excellent platform for selections and the top performers were then sent to skills and training camps at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High-Performance Centre, Multan in September and at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre, Karachi in November. They were further tested for their fitness and skills in the first phase of the T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament in the last part of 2022 and the players were a part of a team that participated in the tournament.

• Mohsin Kamal is the Head Coach with Muhammad Kamran Hussain serving as the Assistant Coach and Muhammad Usman Shahid serving as the Analyst forming a strong support staff for Pakistan.

What did Chief selector Asmavia Iqbal have to say?

“I want to congratulate the 15 players who have made it into the squad for the inaugural U19 event. I remain confident that this side has the capability and potential to do well in the mega event. These players were selected after a rigorous and robust process and I want to congratulate the coaches who have worked tirelessly hard on the skills of the players to get them ready for the event. The tournament will also help us to increase our pool of players which will ultimately help in forming a strong and more competitive squad at the senior level.”