Contributed by Ms. Maryam Raza, Head of Women’s Executive Network, TN Media News
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced salary increments for not only men’s cricket but also women’s cricket in a bid to improve the standards of cricket in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s women’s cricket team recently won a home series against Sri Lanka, which boosted the morale of the nation after a rather disappointing World Cup campaign where they finished rock-bottom of the table.
Pakistan managed to register their first-ever victory in the ICC World Cup format, as quoted by Ramiz Raja during his recent press conference.
Speaking about Pakistan women’s team performances and standards, legendary Australian women cricketer and recently elected president of Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) Lisa Sthalekar, said that the Pakistan team is ‘highly skilful.’
“When I played against Pakistan, we only faced them in ICC events. They were a team which we were extremely cautious about; they were unknown but highly skilful,” she said.
She explained that although Pakistan still has a long way to go, they possess all the right ingredients to succeed.
“They are still not a top-tier team but they possess all the right skills. Their fielding, as we saw in the World Cup, cost them a few matches. But their fight and skill are just as good as the rest,” Lisa claimed.
Lisa talked about the Pakistan women’s team’s fixtures list and stated that they have a jampacked calendar and they will be facing better opposition, which will eventually help them get better.
From what I have seen, Pakistan women’s team’s calendar is jampacked. They will be playing against better oppositions which will only help them become better. Come next year, Pakistan’s team will be completely different than what it is now.”
While on the subject of naming her favourite players from Pakistan’s men’s cricket, Lisa named Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Lisa also stated that Pakistan is on her list of countries to visit and she has a standing offer from Sana Mir for accommodation.
“I did some work with Sana Mir and she had invited me to come and visit Pakistan. Hopefully, in the near future I’ll be able to do it because it’s a country I really want to see,” she concluded.
Originally posted on CRICKET PAKISTAN, Reproduced for TN MEDIA.
