West Indies women’s cricket team arrives today

KARACHI: The West Indies women’s cricket team will arrive here on Sunday (today) to play three ODIs and a five-match T20I series afainst Pakistan. The matches begin from April 18.

All eight matches will be played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi. Sources said that Pakistan would assemble in Karachi on April 13 and start practice from April 14-17. The Windies’ practice timing would be announced later.

Meanwhile, the National women’s selection committee led by former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffer, announced 16-member ODI and T20 squads. Five players have been recalled to the white–ball squad. The three ODIs will be part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 which will be played between 18 and 23 April, while the five T20Is will take place from 26 April to 3 May.

For the ODI series, wicketkeeper-batter Sidra Nawaz (67 ODIs, 56 T20Is), who last featured for the Pakistan women’s team in the ODI series against South Africa in Karachi in September 2023, has been recalled.

For T20Is, four players including Ayesha Zafar, Gull Feroza, Rameen Shamim and Tuba Hassan have been recalled. Ayesha last featured for Pakistan in the T20I format against South Africa in 2021, Gull Feroza’s last outing for the Pakistan women’s team in the T20I format was against Sri Lanka in 2022, while Rameen’s last T20I match was against South Africa in 2019. Tuba, who made her ODI debut against Australia in 2023, last appeared in the T20I format against England in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023.

Ayesha, Gull Feroza and Rameen, who are part of the T20I squad, will participate in the National Women’s One-Day Tournament in Faisalabad from April 17. Before the T20I series, the three players will rejoin the national team squad.

After the ODI series, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Nawaz and Waheeda Akhtar will move to Faisalabad to take part in the domestic one-day tournament.