The involvement and participation of Pakistani women in mainstream cricket continues to increase as four women have registered for a three-day ACC Level 1 Women Coaching Course, which will be held in Lahore from 17 to 19 October —Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a press release.
Women registered for the first step in future coaching roles include Abbottabad’s Atika Sabir Khan, Lahore’s Fareeha Mahmood, Shehla Bibi from Wah Cantt and Tasleem Bano from the Gaizer district of Gilgit Baltistan.
Fareeha is a current Pakistan international who featured in three T20Is against Sri Lanka in March 2018.
Other participants in the course, first of its kind, include representatives from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Iran, Kuwait (two), Malaysia, Maldives, Oman (two) and United Arab Emirates.
Senior General Manager at the National Cricket Academy Ali Zia — who is also a course instructor — said: “We have already organized two Level-2 courses in the past. The feedback given by ACC to PCB was commendable and it was marked as the best-ever organized so far.
“There is a certain standard set for the course, the participants will gain great benefit from the course, as it will provide them with an opportunity to go back to their countries and train young girls.
“The ACC’s Test playing countries are always there in development of the associate countries and will continue to play an active role in future.”
“ACC is working with its member countries in the development of the game in the region. The ACC takes pride in hosting its inaugural women’s level-1 course at NCA. The initiative was taken in the ACC’s Development Committee meeting, which was chaired by Chairman PCB Mr Ehsan Mani," said ACC’s Events and Development Manager, Sultan Rana.
"Our purpose is to encourage more girls in this game, and the course will provide an opportunity to inspire them. It will also help the participants to go back to their homeland and play a part in the development of women’s cricket,” he added.