Fatima Sana’s Pakistan have made improvements in recent times, but they’d not be starting the ICC Women’s World Cup as one of the favourites for one the semifinal spots. They do have a good mix of experienced players and young talents coming through but positive results in ODIs against the top teams have been few and far between.
How is Pakistan’s form coming into the World Cup?
Pakistan came through a six-team ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier that they hosted in April. The bottom four teams from the Women’s Championship, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ireland and West Indies were joined by Scotland and Thailand for a round-robin competition from which the top two nations would progress to the World Cup. Hosts Pakistan won all five of their matches to qualify comfortably. This month, they played a three-match ODI series in Lahore against South Africa, that they lost 1-2. A remarkable late collapse in the second ODI, where they were heading towards chasing 313, saw Pakistan ended up losing six wickets for 40 runs in the backend.
What does captain Fatima Sana have to say?
“We have a balanced squad with a mix of experienced players and exciting young talent. Teammates like Sidra Amin, Diana Baig, Nashra Sundhu, Aliya Riaz, and Muneeba Ali have already been part of past World Cups and bring calmness and experience. At the same time, youngsters like Eyman Fatima, Shawaal Zulfiqar, and Natalia Parvaiz bring fresh energy and skills that add depth to our team,” Sana wrote in her column for ICC.
“As captain and a fast bowler, I’m looking forward to the conditions in Sri Lanka. Bowling there requires discipline, and as a group of pacers and spinners, our biggest test will be to strike at key moments and support each other through partnerships in the field. On the batting side, we know that building partnerships and playing with freedom will be crucial. Our preparations started months ago, with camps and matches designed to sharpen our game. Having former internationals like Mr. Mohammad Wasim and Mr. Junaid Khan in our coaching staff has added great value. Their guidance has helped us think deeper about the 50-over game and how to adapt in different phases of a match.”
Who will be Pakistan’s star player?
It’s hard to look past captain Fatima Sana for this. A talented medium-pacer, Fatima has also added power-hitting to her arsenal, and is a handy middle-order batter now, capable of upping the ante. Her career strike rate is 74.21 but in 2023 and 2025 is went up to 80.33 and 91.73. After batting at 7 or lower till 2022, she started to climb up, more recently batting between 4 and 6 in the South Africa series (even though the returns were low). Power game has been Pakistan’s problem area for a long time, but it has started to show signs of improvement.
What are Pakistan’s realistic chances?
Despite all the improvements, it’s hard to see Pakistan finishing anywhere in the top 6. One advantage they do have is playing all their matches in Colombo, which will mean they’d have a good hang of the conditions as the tournament progresses. But Pakistan’s record in the Women’s World Cup is abysmal, having won only 3 matches of the 30 they played. When they defeated West Indies in Hamilton last edition for their solitary victory in New Zealand, they had ended a run of 18 straight defeats.
What’s Pakistan’s complete squad?
Fatima Sana (c), Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (vc), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Syeda Aroob Shah.
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What are Pakistan’s fixtures?
October 2: vs Bangladesh, Colombo
October 5: vs India, Colombo
October 8: vs Australia, Colombo
October 15: vs England, Colombo
October 18: vs New Zealand, Colombo
October 21: vs South Africa, Colombo
October 24: vs Sri Lanka, Colombo
What’s Pakistan’s history in the tournament?
1999: 11th
2009: 5th
2013: 8th
2017: 8th
2022: 8th
The postICC Women’s World Cup, Pakistan team quick guide: Fatima Sana’s thoughts on the team, fixtures list, recent form and more | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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