By Asif Naveed
LAHORE (MNN); The Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday announced the ODI and T20I squads of the Pakistan Women’s team for their upcoming tour of South Africa, scheduled to begin on February 10 in Potchefstroom.
Fatima Sana will continue as captain in both formats as Pakistan step up preparations for the ICC Women’s T20I World Cup 2026, set to be held in June.
Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin and Tasmia Rubab have been named in both squads. Uncapped batter Saira Jabeen and right-arm fast bowler Humna Bilal have earned their first T20I call-ups.
Opening batters Ayesha Zafar and Gull Feroza, along with left-arm pacer Tasmia Rubab and wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi, have been included in the 15-member ODI squad after missing out on selection for the ODI World Cup.
Diana Baig, Najiha Alvi, Sadaf Shamas and Syeda Aroob Shah feature only in the ODI squad, while Humna Bilal, Saira Jabeen, Tuba Hassan and Eyman Fatima have been selected exclusively for the T20I squad.
During the tour, team mentor Wahab Riaz will be supported by an experienced coaching staff, including Imran Farhat as batting coach, Umaid Asif as fast bowling coach, Abdur Rehman as spin bowling coach and Abdul Majeed as fielding coach.
The three T20I matches will be played from February 10 to 16 in Potchefstroom, Benoni and Kimberley, with all fixtures scheduled as day-night games.
Pakistan will play a 50-over warm-up match at Kimberley before the ODI series, followed by three ODIs to be staged in Bloemfontein, Centurion and Durban from February 22 to March 1. The second ODI will be a day-night contest, while the remaining matches will be played during the day.
