Virat Kohli is the most popular cricketer in the team, reveals Pakistan women team's skipper Sana Mir
It seems that Virat Kohli has won hearts across the border too.
Sana Mir, the Pakistan women cricket team’s captain, has revealed that Virat Kohli is the most popular cricketer in their team although her personal favourite is the Indian skipper MS Dhoni.
Sana has been an inspirational figure in Pakistan and she has contributed immensely to change the perception about women’s cricket in Pakistan. Sana has decided to relinquish captaincy after World T20.
The 30-year-old pointed out the fact that how cricket is considered as a medium for women’s empowerment in Pakistan.
“Yes, we have come a long way. It is considered as a medium for women’s empowerment in Pakistan. Now girls want to take up cricket. This team has done a lot to change the perception. There were times it was difficult for women’s cricket in Pakistan but now parents come up and tell me that they want their daughters to play cricket,” Sana said to the reporters at a media conference, in Chennai on Sunday.
Dhoni is my favourite player
Sana also talked about her personal favourite MS Dhoni and said, “Dhoni is my favourite player because he had led India. He has handled himself well on and off the field. He has transformed a team of juniors into an effective unit.”
After leaving the captaincy, Sana wants to personally supervise a smooth change of guard by continuing to play as an ordinary team member before calling time on an illustrious career.
Sana also dismissed the notion of a probable void after her departure from the scene. According to her, it is the right time to pass on the baton as this is the right time for the next captain to take over. The next T20 World Cup is after two years and there are the Asian games also in which Pakistan will look to defend its title. She thinks this is the ideal time for the new captain to come in and settle down.
She wants to set a trend in her country as she feels it is extremely important that the leadership passes on smoothly. She looks forward to contributing as a team member until the new captain settles down. She took the examples of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara in this regard and labelled them as wonderful ambassadors of the game.
Pakistan men’s cricket team, which is always full of controversies regarding the captaincy and other issues, can surely take a leaf out of their women cricket team’s captain’s book.