The 22-year-old young pace-bowling all-rounder Fatima Sana is a young sensation and a promising talent from Pakistan. She was born on 8th November 2001 in Karachi, Sind. She started playing cricket at the tender age of 13. She is a quick learner and discovered her love for cricket and with the cultural and religious traditions in the country not in favor of female participation in the sport, she luckily found support in the form of her elder brother. He recognized her talent in the support and encouraged the participation with the boys playing on the streets.
“My brother realised that I was a good cricketer. He told me every time, turn your arm and do some bowling. So I did and after two or three months he chose me for a cricket academy with the boys. After a lot of street games I started my cricket journey in the academy with boys and they were all bigger and taller than me because they were proper club members.” Fatima Sana speaks about how she began her cricket journey. In 2016, a new night tournament for women in Pakistan called Khelo Kricket was launched.
She made her International debut on 6th May 2019 in an ODI against South Africa. Over a period of time, she is now getting better and playing closer to her potential best and cemented her place in the whiteball format for Pakistan. She has scored 482 runs at a strike rate of 71.40 in 33 innings. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries in the format for her side. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has picked up 50 wickets at an average of 30.64 and an economy of 5.51 in 39 innings with the ball.
She made her T20I debut on 15th May 2019 against South Africa. She has scored 170 runs in 21 innings with the bat for her side. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up 30 wickets at an average of 28.73 in 35 innings. She led Pakistan for the first time in the last couple of ODIs in their away series against New Zealand in December 2023. She led Pakistan to a historic victory against New Zealand.
“It’s very important for us to win matches because of our cultural problems. We want the best cricket in Pakistan for women. So that’s why we want a win against England, like we won against New Zealand. After beating New Zealand we got a lot of cricket in Pakistan, the PCB and the public supported us so much and that’s the biggest thing.” The Pakistan all-rounder Fatima Sana speaks about the importance and the impact of winning against big teams.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup that is all set to be hosted by Bangladesh in October later this year. “It’s my biggest dream that Pakistan will play in a final and win a World Cup. And I want to be, myself, the number one all-rounder. That would be the biggest achievement.” The all-rounder Fatima Sana speaks about her aspirations that she has on her bucket list during her time, playing for Pakistan at the international level.
(Quotes sourced from Telegraph)