National Women’s T20 Tournament all set to commence from Jan 15

The six-team National Women’s T20 Tournament 2024 is all set to commence from Jan 15, Monday, at three venues in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the tournament will feature six regional teams – Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and Rawalpindi.

The 17-day tournament will see each team play 10 matches, before the top two sides compete in the finals on Jan 31. The venue of the finals is yet to be announced.

The double round-robin matches are slated to be held at Rawalpindi’s Ayub Park Ground and Islamabad’s Diamond Cricket Ground and Shoaib Akhtar Stadium. Matches at the Shoaib Akhtar Stadium will be streamed live on the PCB’s YouTube channel.

The toss is set to take place at 10:30 PKT, with the first ball of the match bowled at 11:00 PKT. The winning team will receive Rs1 million, while the runners-up will be awarded Rs0.5 million.

Individual awards include Rs50,000 for the player of the tournament and Rs20,000 for the player of the match in each game. Top performers in various categories – best batter, best bowler, and best wicket-keeper – will each receive Rs25,000.

The National Women’s T20 Tournament 2024 presents a significant opportunity for players to stake their claim in the national team ahead of a busy international year.

Pakistan Women are set to participate in at least eight T20Is, including five against West Indies and three against England, before competing in the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.

The PCB has finalised the six squads, comprising 16 players each. These squads were selected by the national women’s selection committee, led by former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar.

Squads:

Karachi Region: Fatima Sana (Captain), Aimen Anwar, Aroob Shah, Esha Rahupoto, Hurraina Sajjad, Javeria Khan, Laiba Fatima, Maham Manzoor, Maham Tariq, Masooma Jaffri, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Yusra Amir and Zunaira Shah

Team Management: Tahir Khan (Head Coach), Jaweria Rauf (Assistant Coach), Sehar Syed (Physio), Taimoor Mehmood (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Shagufta Kazmi (Manager)

Lahore Region: Nida Dar (Captain), Ayesha Zafar, Amber Kainaat, Areesha Noor, Bismah Maroof, Fatima Khan, Fatima Shahid, Ghulam Fatima, Iram Javed, Kainat Hafeez, Nashra Sundhu, Noreen Yaqoob, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz and Zunash Abdul Sattar

Team management: Mohsin Kamal (Head Coach), Tahir Mehmood (Assistant Coach), Iraj Athar (Physio), Asfand Yar Khan (Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Hina Azam (Manager)

Multan Region: Umm-e-Hani (Captain), Aisha Bilal, Aleena Masood, Amber Maria, Asma Shareef, Gul-e-Uswa, Gul Feroza, Gul Rukh, Noor Ul Eman, Rehmat Noreen, Saiqa Riaz, Samina Aftab, Shahmeer Rajput, Tasmia Rubab, Wajeeha Muneer and Warda Yousaf

Team Management: Kamran Hussain (Head Coach), Maria Gulnaz (Assistant Coach), Laila Niaz Khan (Physio), Pervaiz Nabi (Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Najma Zafar (Manager)

Peshawar Region: Aleena Shah (Captain), Anaya Khan, Ayesha Afridi, Fatima Zeb, Javeria Qamar, Mahnoor Hayat, Mahnoor Qayum, Momina Riyasat, Nayab Ishaq, Rahyma Syed, Salwa Raheem, Seema Gul, Sehar Gull, Shabnam Hayat, Sumbal Bibi and Tehzeeb Shah

Team Management: Hajra Sarwar (Head Coach), Rehmat Gul (Assistant Coach), Rummana Zubair (Physio), Fazal Wahab (Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Haseena Khushboo (Manager)

Quetta Region: Saima Malik (Captain), Anum Amin, Ayesha Asim, Dua Majid, Faiza, Fareeha Mehmood, Humaira Ghulam, Jannat Rashid, Khadija Chishti, Khair-u-Nisa, Khizra Liaqat, Lubaba Sarwar, Nida, Subhana Tariq, Tuba Hassan and Zamar Shafee

Team Management: Aqil Baloch (Head Coach), Nahida Bibi (Assistant Coach), Mahnoor Sajjad (Physio), Mujahid Shah (Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Hajira Baloch (Manager)

Rawalpindi Region: Aliya Riaz (Captain), Aima Saleem Satti, Areeja Haseeb, Fajar Naveed, Farzana Farooq, Fatima Syed, Fatima Zehra Shah, Humna Bilal, Kainat Gulalai, Lubna Behram, Natalia Parvaiz, Noor Fatima, Sania Rasheed, Tania Saeed, Waheeda Akhtar and Zainab Arif Jutt

Team Management: Jawad Hamid (Head Coach), Waqar Orakzai (Assistant Coach), Tehreem Sumbal (Physio), Farrukh Hayat (Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Saira Iftikhar (Manager).