Mohammad Wasim, a former Pakistan batter and men’s main selector, has been named head coach of the women’s national side, with the T20 Asia Cup just under a month away. Junaid Khan and Abdur Rehman, both former Pakistan bowlers, will act as assistant and spin-bowling coaches, respectively. There has been no appointment of a batting coach, and Wasim is expected to take on that responsibility himself.
The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed in a statement, that the appointments were only effective for the Asia Cup, to be played in Dambulla from July 19 to 28.
Wasim’s prior experience as a coach
Most of Wasim’s coaching career has been with Northern, a team that was part of the Pakistan domestic setup for four years during the PCB’s reorganization of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Imran Khan’s request, who was the prime minister of Pakistan and also the PCB’s patron at that time.
Wasim guided Northern to two consecutive second place finishes, with his team known for developing young players. He also secured trophies at the National T20 Cup, as Northern emerged victorious in the competition during the 2019-20 season. Wasim was named the chief selector of the men’s team, but he was quickly dismissed when Najam Sethi became the PCB chairman in December 2022.
Probable squad for Pakistan Women in Asia Cup
The chances for Pakistan women’s team looks bleak as the women had no opportunity to practice. Unlike in 2023, no exhibition women’s matches were held alongside the 2024 men’s PSL.No squad has been named yet for the Women’s Asia cup.
However, PCB is organising a 4 day camp in Karachi with 28 women cricketers a part of it.
Players include Aliya Riaz, Anoosha Nasir, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Dua Majid, Eyman Fatima, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Humna Bilal, Iram Javed, Maham Manzoor, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Quratulain, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Yusra Amir, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar.
The eight-team ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup will be played in Dambulla, Sri Lanka from July 19 to 28. In the T20I tournament, Pakistan are placed in Group ‘A’ along with India, Nepal and UAE. Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India on the opening day of the tournament, while matches against Nepal and UAE will be played on July 21 and 23, respectively.
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