Pakistan, one of the most unpredictable teams in the international circuit, has dropped Sana Mir, their most successful player in the history. Led by Bismah Maroof, they have won 6 matches while losing 7 after 2018 World Cup. They will play against Thailand, West Indies, England and South Africa.
Key Players
Bismah Maroof, Alia Riaz, Javeria Khan, Anam Amin, Daina Beig
X-Factor
Nida Dar, Sidra Nawaz
Strength
Pakistan who are famous to turn the table on their days, have defeated Bangladesh 3-0 and managed to win 2 matches against South Africa. And on these matches, their batting consisted of Maroof and Javeria Khan rose to the occasion. Their captain Maroof has scored 459 runs in 14 innings in the middle order with the strike rate of 108.
Javeria Khan, the opener also has played a useful role to gave them the solid start. Batters like Aliya Riaz and Umaimah Sohail who also had played in the previous edition, have gained enough experience to create the threat to the opposition attack. Nida Dar who has become the first Pakistani player to play in WBBL for Sidney Sixers is a key player of the Pakistani Side.
With her big liver, she can hit the ball out of the park and she is handy with the balls as well. She has picked up 1o wickets with her off-spin and scored 272 runs at a strike-rate of 137. Along with her wicket-keeper, Sidra Nawaz can also accumulate runs at a brisk pace, down the order.
Like any other subcontinent side, the strength of the bowling lies in the spin department. Anam Amin and Nida Dar will lead the spin attack whereas front line seamer like Diana Baig along with a bunch of all-rounders can create pressure in the opposition batting line up. In T-20 leg spinners always get a special treatment as they can turn the tide at any moment. In the big grounds of Australia, teenage leg spinner, Arroba Shah can play a useful role.
It will be interesting to see if this team, which is evenly balanced with youngsters and the seasoned campaigner, can turn the table upside down or not.
Weakness
Sana Mir, who has led the side in the previous edition, has been excluded from the side, this can create a huge impact within the side. The player whose ball against Ireland was declared as the moment of the tournament was excluded due to her lack of from.
This can create pressure among the spinners within. Mir used to take a lot of pressure out of her bowlers. Apart from Baig, there is no genuine seamer, upon whom the team can rely on. In the batting, the main concern lies in the run rate. Most of the batters have a strike rate less than 100 and apart from Nida Dar none has scored at a brisk pace.
So, while chasing a big total these can create a problem. The opening remains a concern in practice match as well where they have lost to Bangladesh by 5 runs.
Team:
Bismah Maroof (C), Javeria Khan, Alia Riaz, Anam Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Nida Dar, Aroob Sah, Umaima Sohail, Muneeba Ali, Sadia Iqbal, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Aimin Anwer, Daina Baig, Ayesha Naseem,
Head to Head
vs Thailand Played 1 Won 1 Lost o NR/T-0
vs England Played 13 Won 1 Lost 12 NR/L-0
vs South Africa Played 14 Won 6 Lost 8 NR/L-0
vs West Indies Played 12 Won 2 Lost 7 NR/T-3
Fixtures
26/2 vs West Indies 1.30 PM (IST)
28/2 vs England 1.30 PM (IST)
01/3 vs South Africa 9.30 AM (IST)
03/3 vs Thailand 9.30 AM (IST)
