Sana Mir, the vastly experienced former captain of the Pakistan women’s team, has been left out of a 15-player squad named for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The tournament is to be held in Australia from February 21 to March 8. Bismah Maroof will lead the side with three changes. The selectors have recalled Muneeba Ali and Aimen Anwar, while also naming the uncapped Ayesha Naseem in the squad. The trio have replaced Nahida Khan, Ayesha Zafar and Rameen Shamim in the T20I squad, who lost 3-0 to England in Kuala Lumpur last month. Mir, 34, wasn’t a part of that series but played in the 3-0 win over Bangladesh at home in Lahore in November, picking up five wickets with a best of 3 for 49 in the second fixture. Overall, she has turned out in 106 T20Is over the years –– the same as Maroof, making them the most experienced Pakistan players in the format –– as well as 120 ODIs, the most among Pakistan women players.
“Though Sana Mir doesn’t feature in the 15-player line-up, I believe we still have the desired experience in the squad,” Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said in a statement on Monday. “Sana has been a phenomenal servant of Pakistan cricket while being an inspiration to many girls out there. Unfortunately, her recent performances in the T20 format were not on her side.”
Captain Maroof said she had wanted Mir in the side, and hoped the veteran would continue to be a part of the set-up going forward. “It was a tough decision to leave out Sana Mir,” Maroof said. “I wanted to have her in the squad over which I, along with the selection committee, had deep deliberations. We had to decide between her and the emerging players who had been impressing on all the stages. I respect and support the decision of the major group and hope she will continue to serve Pakistan women’s cricket in future with the same passion and energy.”
On the make-up of the side, especially the inclusion of the teenaged Zafar and Aroob Shah, Mumtaz said: “Though the players who have been left out will be disappointed and heart-broken, this, however, should act as a motivation for them to come back more strongly. On the other side of the coin, the selection of 15-year-old Ayesha and 16-year-old Aroob Shah should be a motivation and message for all the budding youngsters. Furthermore, the selectors have also valued our domestic competition, while also taking into consideration the players who have been regularly part of the side since the Bangladesh series. The team has been selected keeping in mind the current form and performances along with the conditions in Australia and, at the same moment, we have come up with the right balance of youth and experience which will complement each other in the mega event. As part of the preparation for the event, Pakistan will leave for Australia on January 31 and play three warm-up matches against West Indies in early February. Pakistan are drawn with England, South Africa, Thailand and the West Indies in Group B. Prior to that, the PCB confirmed, there will be an eight-day camp from January 23 to 30 at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi.
Pakistan squad:
Bismah Maroof (capt), Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Ayesha Naseem, Umaima Sohail, Nida Dar, Iram Javed, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Diana Baig, Aiman Anwar, Anam Amin, Fatima Sana, Sadia Iqbal, Aroob Shah.
Officials: Syed Iqbal Imam (head coach), Saleem Jaffer (bowling coach), Amir Iqbal (fielding coach), Gemaal Hussain (strength & conditioning coach), Dr Riffat Asghar Gill (physio), Aisha Jalil (team manager) and Zubair Ahmed (analyst).