Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday sacked Pakistan ODI captain Sana Mir as part of its revamp of the women’s cricket structure. Bismah Maroof, already leading the side in the Twenty20 format, was appointed the new skipper. Bismah had been appointed captain of the T20 side in June last year, after Pakistan opted for split leadership. Sana will still be considered for selection as a player. “Following a review of the current women’s cricket structure, after a dismal performance of the team in the recently concluded World Cup, the PCB has reviewed the relevant reports of coach, captain, chief selector and manager and has interviewed the manager, captain and general manager of women’s cricket. After this, it has been decided that women’s cricket needs changes,” a spokesman for the PCB said. “As a result, the PCB has decided to dismiss Shamsa Hashmi, the general manager of the women’s wing. Furthermore, the women’s selection committee, led by former Test cricketer Mohammad Ilyas, has been disbanded. Also gone is Ayesha Ashar, the team’s long-standing manager, although she has been assigned an interim post in the women’s wing until a new general manager is appointed,” the spokesman added.

Pakistan finished at the bottom of the table at the Women’s World Cup, losing all seven matches, after which problems between Sana and the team management surfaced. The team’s coach Sabih Azhar called Sana ‘self-centred, egotistical and being wrapped up in oneself,’ before Sana responded by saying she would not continue with the current set-up. Earlier this week, Sana refused to attend a training and fitness camp ahead of a series against New Zealand ‘unless crucial issues regarding women’s cricket were addressed’ by the PCB.

PCB chairman Najam Sethi backed the PCB’s decision saying it was ‘taken after a comprehensive internal review’. “The decisions have been taken to address the decline in the performance of women’s team. These are well thought-out decisions taken after a comprehensive internal review. I am hopeful that we will transform women’s cricket into a well-knit unit both on the field and at the management level.” Sethi also praised Sana’s contributions towards women’s cricket in Pakistan. “Sana has made great contributions towards Pakistan’s women cricket. She has played an instrumental role for women’s cricket in Pakistan. She has led the team with great respect and always used her best abilities to serve the women’s team.”

The PCB will seek fresh applications for the general manager’s post to succeed Hashmi, a veteran administrator, who has been at the helm of women’s cricket in the PCB since 2015. Until that appointment, Ayesha, who was the team’s manager since 2009, will take temporary charge of the wing’s day-to-day affairs. A new selection committee will be appointed next month to replace the panel led by Ilyas, which had also included former women’s captain Urooj Mumtaz and former Test batsman Nadeem Abbasi.

Sana led Pakistan in 72 ODIs and 65 T20Is since taking over the role in 2009. Pakistan won 26 ODIs and lost 45 in her tenure, with only a marginally better record in T20Is. Bismah, the second most experienced player in the side after Sana, has played 92 ODIs and 74 T20Is and rose in prominence after prolific performances in the last few seasons. She scored 99 in a win over South Africa in March 2015, followed by 92 against Bangladesh in October that year and an unbeaten 91 against New Zealand in Lincoln last year. With a tally of 2082 runs, she is Pakistan’s second-highest run-getter in women’s ODIs, four runs behind Javeria Khan.

The PCB had earlier appointed Mark Coles as head coach of the team for the upcoming series against New Zealand in the UAE, replacing Azhar. The move to bring in a foreign coach is a part of the revamp and is being done on a trial basis. The three-ODI series between Pakistan and New Zealand – scheduled between October 31 and November 5 – is part of the four-year ICC Women’s Championship to determine qualification for the 2021 World Cup. The ODIs will be followed by four T20Is, starting from November 8. All matches will be played in Sharjah and the series will be considered a home series for Pakistan.

Published in Daily Times, October 1^st 2017.