LAHORE: Pakistan will be targeting a good display in the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup as they begin their journey in the eight-team tournament against Nepal at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground in Hong Kong on Tuesday (today).
Pakistan are placed in Group A along with Hong Kong, India A, and Nepal. After their match against Nepal, they will face Hong Kong and India A on June 15 and 17, respectively. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played on June 19. The final of the tournament will be held on June 21.
Fatima Sana, Tuba Hassan, Syeda Aroob Shah, and Najiha Alvi were part of the Pakistan team in the 2019 edition of the tournament. In addition to Fatima, six other players in the squad have already represented the Pakistan women's team in international cricket. These are Gull Feroza, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tuba Hassan, and Umm-e-Hani.
Apart from Aroob, three players, Anoosha Nasir, Eyman Fatima, and Shawaal Zulfiqar, represented Pakistan U19 in the inaugural edition of the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup in January this year in South Africa. Before the tournament, the players participated in the Pakistan Cup Women's Cricket Tournament, representing the Strikers team, where they won all three matches.
On the eve of the first game, Fatima Sana expressed confidence in her team and emphasised the importance of every player contributing to the team's success. She highlighted the talented group of players and mentioned that individual brilliance alone would not be relied upon. Fatima said that tournaments like these provide a great platform for young players to showcase their skills and potentially earn a place in the senior side internationally. She encouraged her teammates to give their best.
Overall, the Pakistan women's team is determined to perform well in the ACC Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup and hopes to achieve great results collectively.
Squad
Fatima Sana (c), Anoosha Nasir, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Gulrukh, Lubna Behram, Najiha Alvi (wk), Natalia Parvaiz, Sadaf Shamas, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Yusra Amir.
Reserves
Amber Kainat, Dua Majid, Fatima Khan and Rameen Shamim
Player support personnel: Aisha Jalil (manager), Mohsin Kamal (head coach), Kamran Hussain (assistant coach), Usman Shahid (analyst) and Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist).
Pakistan fixtures
13 June v Nepal at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground, Hong Kong, 0600 PKT
15 June v Hong Kong at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground, Hong Kong, 0600 PKT
17 June v India A at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground, Hong Kong, 1030 PKT
Our Correspondent