Pakistan's Women's T20 championship to begin on 22 November
The PKR1.7million National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship is all set to begin on November 22. As many as 42 women cricketers, divided into three teams, will compete at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi for 7 games.
PCB Blasters, PCB Challengers and PCB Dynamites will vie in a league format with all teams playing each other twice, and the top two teams competing in the final on December 1. The tournament, which is returning for its second season, is considered as the forerunner in promoting women's cricket in Pakistan.
The Challengers, led by Muneeba Ali, will be raring to defend their title with PKR 1 million up for grabs for the winners. Ali was also the highest run-scorer and the player of the tournament last season.
The runners-up will receive PKR 500,000. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has doubled the prize money from the last year to attract more audience to the tournament. Besides, the match fee has also been doubled, giving the girls more incentive to bring out the best in themselves.
Aliya Riyaz and Rameen Shamim will lead the Blasters and Dynamites, respectively. The PCB Blasters will go up against the Dynamites and Challengers on consecutive days followed by a similar pattern by the other two teams.
The player of the tournament will be awarded an amount of 50,000 while the player of each match will get 20,000 in Pakistani currency.
"To ensure the health and safety of the players and all those involved, the championship will be played under PCB’s Covid-19 protocols," a release from the Pakistan Cricket Board stated.
Pakistan Women's T20 Championship squads
PCB Challengers - Muneeba Ali (captain), Ayesha Naseem, Aiman Anwar, Bismah Maroof, Fatima Sana, Kaynat Hafeez, Nida Dar, Saba Nazir, Sadaf Shams, Sadia Iqbal, Saima Malik, Syeda Aroob Shah, Syeda Asma Amin (wk) and Waheeda Akhter
PCB Blasters - Aliya Riaz (captain), Anam Amin, Anoosha Nasir, Hafsa Amjad, Huraina Sajjad, Javeria Khan, Jaweria Rauf, Khadija Chishty, Maham Tariq, Natalia Parvaiz, Noreen Yaqoob, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan
PCB Dynamites - Rameen Shamim (captain), Aima Saleem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Hafsa Khalid, Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Nahida Khan, Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Omaima Sohail, Subhana Tariq, Syeda Masooma Zehra Fatima and Umme Hani