The current captain of Pakistan women’s team Bismah Maroof has been told to continue her responsibilities till the ICC Women’s T20 world cup. Iqbal Imam has been given the role of the head coach of the side.
“It is truly an honour for me to be continuing as Pakistan’s captain and I look forward to leading the side in the next year’s T20 World Cup,” Maroof said in an official statement on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Bismah Maroof has featured in 105 ODIs and 103 T20Is till now. She was initially appointed as Pakistan’s captain in the T20I format in 2016 for the tour of England, before taking over as ODI captain post-ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. Till date, she has captained the side in 15 ODIs and 33 T20Is.
“The team is in good shape and has produced some good performances recently. There’s a great deal of talent and passion in the girls and I look forward to carrying the momentum to the World Cup,” she added.
The coach for the side, Imam has played 147 first-class games, in which he scored 6,249 runs and grabbed 136 wickets in his account. Imam was assigned as interim head coach for the recent home series against Bangladesh as Mark Coles resigned from the spot.
“It is certainly an honour for me to be appointed as a head coach for the women’s side. Women’s cricket in Pakistan is improving day-by-day and we have a lot of talented girls emerging,” Imam said, adding “Our team has gotten off to a decent start this season by beating Bangladesh in T20I series and levelling the ODI series. There’s a great potential in the side to do wonders and I aim to bring the best out of them”
In December, Pakistan team will lock horns against Kuala Lumpur in the seventh round of ICC Women’s Championship in England. The team’s performance will be reviewed after the 2020 World Cup before future decisions are made as the Pakistan women’s team has no scheduled Future Tours Programme (FTP) or ICC commitments until the ICC Women’s World Cup New Zealand 2021.
Source: Firstpost
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