Why did former Captain Bismah Maroof opts out of Asian Games?

Pakistan’s former captain Bismah Maroof has pulled out from the Asian Games 2023 which is set to be played in Hangzhou, China. She opted out due to the event’s policy which does not allow the athletes to carry their children. Maroof welcomed her baby girl, Fatima in August 2021.

Head of Women’s Cricket, Tania Mallick said “The team is unfortunate to miss out on the services of Bismah Maroof for this event as she would not have been able to accompany her infant daughter to the Games village due to the regulations in place.” (Source – PCB).

Pakistan won the gold medal in the previous editions, Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014. Bismah Maroof was part of both the winning squads. Courtesy of their rankings, Pakistan will play directly in the Quarter Finals of the Asian Games 2023 along with India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

Check out 🇵🇰 Pakistan's 1️⃣5️⃣-member squad for Asian Games

• Maiden call-ups to the senior national squads for Anoosha Nasir and Shawaal Zulfiqar.

• Bismah Maroof opts out because the rules don't allow athletes to carry their children.#CricketTwitter 📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/aVwU2m9sYH

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 25, 2023

Maroof is Pakistan’s most-capped T20I player with 132 matches under her belt. Her experience will be strongly missed. This in addition to Ayesha Naseem’s early retirement has caused major setbacks in Pakistan’s batting order. The top two run scorers for Pakistan in the shortest format, Maroof and Javeria Khan, are not part of the squad. Their batting will heavily depend on the trio of Muneeba Ali, Aliya Riaz, and Nida Dar.

Also Read: Rashid Hassan, father of Pakistan’s star all-rounder Nida Dar passes away

Earlier, just after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in South Africa, Maroof stepped down from captaincy.

PCB recently announced the squad for the Asiad which will be led by Nida Dar. There are two debutants in Anoosha Nasir and Shawaal Zulfiqar. Also the Asiad squad marks the return of the speedster Diana Baig who picked an unfortunate injury during the series against Australia.

Pakistan Women’s Cricket squad for Asian Games

Nida Dar (c), Aliya Riaz, Anoosha Nasir, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi, Nashra Sundhu, Nataliya Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Umm-e-Hani.