KARACHI: Off-spinner Mahnoor Aftab will captain Pakistan in the upcoming T20 tri-series, to be played in Cox’s Bazar from January 24 to February 2.
The women’s national selection committee, led by Saleem Jaffar, announced the 15-member squad on Thursday.
The other two teams to be involved in the tri-series are hosts Bangladesh Women U19 and Sri Lanka Women U19.
The tournament will be played on a double round-robin basis followed by a final.
Batting all-rounder Laiba Nasir has been named Mahnoor Aftab’s deputy.
Six players, including Mahnoor Aftab and Laiba, represented Pakistan at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup that took place in South Africa the previous year. Anosha Nasir, Eyman Fatima, Rida Aslam and Zaib-un-Nisa are the other players who represented Pakistan at the World Cup.
Ahead of the squad finalisation, 23 players featured in a probables camp as part of the preparation and training for the tri-series. The camp ran from January 10 to 18 at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi and was monitored by the women’s national selection committee.
The team is set to depart for Bangladesh on January 19 from Karachi. Pakistan Women U19 will play their first match on January 25 against Sri Lanka Women U19.
Squad: Pakistan Women U19 squad: Mahnoor Aftab (captain), Laiba Nasir (vice-captain), Anosha Nasir, Areesha Ansari, Eyman Fatima, Haleema Dua Zafar, Komal Khan (Wicketkeeper), Maham Anees, Memoona Khalid, Mubeen Ahmed, Ravail Farhan, Rida Aslam, Samiya Afsar, Zaib un Nisa and Zoofishan Ayyaz.
Non-traveling reserves: Aleesa Mukhtiar, Kainat Eiman, Muskan Abid and Tayyaba Imdad.
Team management: Wasim Yousafi (head coach), Aisha Jalil (manager), Shakir Qayyum (assistant coach), Zulfiqar Babar (spin bowling coach), Muhammad Ramzan (strength and conditioning coach), Muhammad Usman Shahid (analyst) and Rabia Siddiq (physio).
Tri-series schedule:
Jan 24 –Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
Jan 25 – Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Jan 27 –Bangladesh v Pakistan
Jan 28 –Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
Jan 30 –Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Jan 31 –Bangladesh v Pakistan
Feb 2 – Final
