Pakistan Women begin Asia Cup preparations ahead of UAE showdown

Pakistan Women have begun their preparations at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore ahead of the ACC Women’s Asia Cup, which will be held in the UAE from August 28 to September 13. The camp will run until August 25.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the tournament, with all-rounder Fatima Sana named captain.

The eight-team DP World Women’s Asia Cup will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Pakistan have been placed in Group A alongside Hong Kong-China, India and Thailand, while Group B features Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the UAE.

Pakistan will open their campaign against Thailand on September 1 before taking on arch-rivals India on September 5. They will face Hong Kong-China in their final group-stage match on September 7.

The semi-finals are scheduled for September 10 and 11, with the final to be played on September 13.

Pakistan will also feature in the women’s cricket event at the 20th Asian Games. They are seeded alongside Thailand and will face them in the fourth quarter-final on September 17 at the Korogi Athletic Park in Aichi.

The other quarter-finals will see India take on Japan, Bangladesh face China, and Sri Lanka meet Malaysia.

If Pakistan advance to the semifinals on September 20, they will face either Sri Lanka or Malaysia. The bronze-medal and gold-medal matches are scheduled for September 22.

Women’s Asia Cup squad: Fatima Sana (captain), Ayesha Zafar, Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Momina Riasat, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Najiha Alvi, Nashra Sundhu, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar.

Asian Games squad: Fatim Sana (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Humna Bilal, Momina Riasat, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan and Umm-e-Hani.