Daily Times

KARACHI: 17-year-old Anoosha Nasir is making waves with her exceptional skills and stellar performances. Her recent achievements in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa have gathered attention and established her as a promising talent in the sport. With an impressive tally of 10 wickets from five matches, Anoosha has proved her mettle on the international stage. As she gears up for the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Hong Kong later this month, her presence in the team adds depth and diversity to Pakistan’s lineup. Hailing from Karachi, Anoosha started her cricketing journey from Skills 2 Shine U18 T20 Women Cricket Championship 2019-20, which was held in Lahore. Playing for Northern Renegades, Anoosha finished at the top spot in the bowling charts with six wickets from four wickets and led her side to the final of the tournament.

Representing PCB Challengers in the Pakistan Cup Women’s One-day Cup 2021-22 held in Karachi from September 9 to 21, 2021, Anoosha bagged 14 wickets from seven matches which included one five-wicket haul. This was the only five-fer in the tournament and she finished on second place in the bowling charts.

In order to choose the squad for the first-ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup, the PCB arranged a Women’s U19 T20 Tournament in August 2022. The tournament, involving six teams, took place from August 13 to 22 in Muridke and Sheikhupura. Anoosha, playing for the Sindh Women U19 team as a right-handed batter, scored 65 runs from three innings. Her impressive performance included eight boundaries, and she also took three wickets. Three months later, Anoosha represented PCB Challengers in phase two of the T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament, where she took five wickets from three outings. She registered her best figures of four for 24 in the match against Dynamites on 6 December at the LCCA Ground.

Anoosha then turned out for Strikers in the T20 phase of the Pakistan Cup Women’s Cricket Tournament 2022-23, where she bagged five wickets from two outings in the first phase held in Karachi. Talking to PCB Digital on the sidelines of the camp for the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 in Karachi, Anoosha narrated her journey and said, “My family has been a great support to me, specially my father who stays with me whenever I am practicing. This gives me a lot of encouragement to play this game and perform. I had this feeling inside me from the beginning that I have to play cricket, but it was Sana Mir who inspired me to take this game.”

When questioned about her ability to consistently take wickets at such a young age, Anoosha said, “I have been bowling to the senior players, played with them, so it’s always felt good playing with them.” Shedding light on her experience of representing Pakistan in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, Anoosha said, “It was a dream for me to become the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in the mega event. I just tried to give my best and eventually it happened.” Regarding her objectives for the upcoming ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, the left-arm spinner expressed her desire to contribute to her team’s success through her performance in the tournament.