Nida Dar celebrates her 36th birthday on 2nd January 2023. She has been a pioneer for Pakistan cricket since time immemorial and is rightfully so nicknamed, ‘Lady Boom-Boom’. She is a crucial cog in the set-up and for a girl from Gujranwala, a tiny industrial city in Pakistan’s Punjab province, she has achieved quite a lot.
Any young woman in the subcontinent faces innumerable obstacles when pursuing a career in cricket, and it can be especially difficult to break free when you come from a more traditional environment but Nida Dar has certainly etched her name in history for the right reasons and has made a name for herself. This year alone when we have a look at her performances, she has been prolific. In T20Is this year alone, she scored 396 runs at an impressive average of 56.57 while also bagging 15 wickets and for this distinction, she has been nominated for the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year. She also won the ‘Player of the Month’ Award in November 2022 for her fantastic performances giving glimpses of what a class player she is.
She also holds the record for being the first and the only Pakistani bowler to have scalped 100 wickets in T20Is and is also the second-highest wicket-taker in Women’s T20Is. This year she also seemed to be handy with the bat, scoring runs comfortably. Striking three fifty scores in the year, her unbeaten knock in the Commonwealth Games, and her performances in the Asia Cup versus India where she scored a 56* while also taking two wickets leading Pakistan to victory: their first versus India in over seven years and the 61 versus Ireland really set her apart among the myriad of memorable performances. Perhaps, the silver lining in 2022 was her performance in the Asai Cup where she accumulated 145 runs at an average of 72 while also pocketing eight wickets. She singlehandedly led the Pakistani team out of the trenches and for that is such a vital cog in the set-up.
With a reputation for clutch knocks and contributing to the side in pressure situations, she has been the backbone of the side for many years and will continue to don the role as Pakistan will look to go all the way in bilateral tournaments and multi-nation tournaments this year.
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.