Bismah Maroof and Iqbal Imam retained captain, coach until ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020
Abdullah Asjad
ISLAMABAD:-Bismah Maroof has been retained as captain and Iqbal Imam has been appointed as the head coach of Pakistan national women’s team until next year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia from 21 February to 8 March.
Prior to the Australia event in December, the Pakistan national women’s cricket team will take on England in Kuala Lumpur in the seventh round of ICC Women’s Championship. The three ODIs will be followed by three T20Is.
Bismah, the 28-year-old veteran of 105 ODIs and 103 T20Is, was first appointed as Pakistan captain in the T20I format in 2016 for the tour of England, before taking over as ODI captain post-ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. To date, she has led Pakistan in 15 ODIs and 33 T20Is.
Iqbal Imam played 147 first-class matches from 1989 to 2005 during which he scored 6,249 runs and took 136 wickets. He was named as the batting coach in April and was made interim head coach for the recent home series against Bangladesh after Mark Coles resigned from the position.
Bismah Maroof, reflecting on her appointment, said: “It is truly an honour for me to be continuing as Pakistan’s captain and I look forward to leading the side in the next year’s T20 World Cup. “The team is in good shape and has produced some good performances recently. There’s a great deal of talent and passion in the girls and I look forward to carrying the momentum to the World Cup.”
Urooj Mumtaz, Chair of selectors for the Pakistan national women’s team, said: “I congratulate Bismah Maroof and Iqbal Imam on their appointments. “It is the dream of every cricketer to lead their nation in a world event and I am certain that Bismah is a good fit for the job. She has been at the helm for some years and she has grown as a leader.
“There has been a significant improvement in the performances of the women’s side of-late and her vast experience of international cricket is certainly going to benefit the team.” Iqbal Imam, expressing his delight at the announcement, said: “It is certainly an honour for me to be appointed as a head coach for the women’s side. “Women’s cricket in Pakistan is improving day-by-day and we have a lot of talented girls emerging. Our team has gotten off to a decent start this season by beat Bangladesh in T20I series and levelling the ODI series. “There’s a great potential in the side to do wonders and I aim to bring the best out of them.”
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: “Bismah Maroof and Iqbal Imam have put in the hard yards to be where they are today and I am very confident that the national women’s team will thrive under them. “Iqbal has been with the team since April and he understands the demands of the job. He has the desired skillset and was right up there amongst the candidates who applied for the job.
“The Pakistan team showed improvements in their T20I and ODI series against Bangladesh under him and I hope that he will be able to carry forward the momentum gained from them.”
The team’s performance will be reviewed after the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Australia 2020 before future decisions are made as the Pakistan national women’s cricket team has no scheduled Future Tours Programme or ICC commitments until the ICC Women’s World Cup New Zealand 2021, which will be held from 30 January to 20 February.
Pakistan national women’s cricket team’s upcoming matches:
Versus England in Malaysia
9 Dec – First ODI (ICC Women’s Championship), Kinrara Oval
12 Dec – Second ODI (ICC Women’s Championship), Kinrara Oval
14 Dec – Third ODI (ICC Women’s Championship), Kinrara Oval
17 Dec – First T20I, Kinrara Oval
19 Dec – Second T20I, Kinrara Oval
20 Dec – Third T20I, Kinrara Oval
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Australia 2020
26 Feb – v West Indies, Manuka Oval, Canberra
28 Feb – v England, Manuka Oval, Canberra
1 Mar – v South Africa, Sydney Showground, Sydney
3 Mar – v Thailand, Sydney Showground, Sydney
