Pakistan Name 22-Year-Old Fatima Sana as Captain for T20 World Cup
In a significant move, the Pakistan national selection committee has appointed 22-year-old Fatima Sana as the new captain of the women’s T20I team. She will lead the side at the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which is set to take place in the UAE starting October 3.
This will be Fatima’s first time captaining the national team in T20Is and at an ICC event. She has previously led Pakistan in two ODI matches, including a famous Super Over victory against New Zealand at Hagley Oval when she stood in for the concussed former captain, 37-year-old Nida Dar.
Unchanged Squad with One Addition
Apart from the change in leadership, the Pakistan squad remains largely intact, with only one addition from the team that toured Sri Lanka for last month’s Women’s T20 Asia Cup. Batter Sadaf Shamas, who was also part of the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup squad, has replaced wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi in the 15-member lineup.
Ten players from the 2023 T20 World Cup campaign are part of the current squad, including the likes of Aliya Riaz, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan, Shamas, Dar and the new captain, Fatima Sana. Sadia Iqbal’s inclusion is subject to her fitness, while uncapped left-arm seamer Tasmia Rubab has also been named in the squad.
“This will be Fatima’s first time captaining the national team in T20Is and at an ICC event.”
Reserves and Group Allocation
Alvi, who has been left out of the main squad, has been designated as the travelling reserve. Rameen Shamim and Umm-e-Hani have been named as the non-travelling reserves.
Pakistan have been drawn in Group A for the T20 World Cup, where they will face off against Australia, India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The final schedule for the tournament is yet to be announced after the event was shifted from Bangladesh to the UAE last week.
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