The world of cricket is steadily approaching the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, which are set to get underway from April 9 in Lahore. The hosts, Pakistan, will be challenged by contending teams – West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand to book a berth in the 50-over ICC World Cup, scheduled to be played in India in September-October.
Prior to the commencement of the Qualifiers, Pakistan women’s cricket bowling coach, Junaid Khan, is optimistic about the team’s chances of securing a spot in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. He asserts that the players have put in significant effort to overcome their shortcomings and are thoroughly prepared for the upcoming qualifiers.
“The players have made an effort to overcome their weaknesses. Now, it will be interesting to see how they perform in the matches. The way they are playing, I am hopeful that Pakistan will qualify for the World Cup,” said the ex-pacer.
Playing in home conditions can act as a double-edged sword, as acquainted conditions can be a big boost but with extra support comes a shared volume of added pressure of expectations. Acknowledging it, Khan said, “There is always pressure when playing at home because the expectation is to perform at our best. We have worked not only on technical aspects but also on strengthening the players mentally.”
Junaid also highlighted that the team’s performance is impacted by the limited number of regular international series. He also mentioned that women’s cricket does not have many series, and gaining match experience is more valuable than just attending training camps.
However, he acknowledged the players’ hard work and praised PCB’s decision to introduce modern-day coaches, as it has allowed players to receive training aligned with contemporary cricket standards.
The 35-year-old has made it clear that every selection has been backed by performance and the squad looks balanced to succeed in the upcoming tournament.
Medium pace-bowling all-rounder Fatima Sana will lead the side in the Qualifiers with an experience of captaining the national side in six T20Is and two ODIs. However, to everyone’s surprise, veteran former skipper Nida Dar could not earn a place in the squad, despite featuring in the 19-player training camp.
From the 2nd of February till the 28th of February, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hosted a training camp at the PCB High-Performance Academy in Faisalabad. Led by former Test cricket player and Pakistan women’s team head coach Mohammad Wasim, the camp comprises 16 contracted players and aims to hone the technical skills of players and help them achieve full fitness.
In May 2024, Pakistan toured England for a limited-over series, where they faced a dominant English side in a 3-match ODI bout as well. The hosts secured a comprehensive 2-0 victory, with one match being abandoned due to incessant rain. Nida Dar captained Pakistan during this particular series, but questions remain intact about the team’s leadership moving forward.
Currently, Pakistan sits at the 10th position in the ICC rankings, highlighting the continuous challenges they face in international cricket.
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