Former Pakistan cricket captain Sana Mir has been appointed as the ambassador for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, adding her extensive experience and insight to the prestigious tournament. Sana, who represented Pakistan in 226 internationals, 137 as captain, brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to her new role.
Set to commence in Abu Dhabi from April 25 to May 7, the Qualifier aims to identify two finalists who will advance to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Sana will closely follow the ten participating teams throughout the two-week-long tournament, offering guidance and support to players and teams alike.
Expressing her excitement for the competitive cricket ahead, Sana emphasized the importance of providing exposure to Associate Member teams and narrowing the gap between top-ranked teams and Associate Member teams through increased playing opportunities.
Reflecting on her own experiences from past qualifying events, Sana fondly remembered the 2008 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifying Series. She aims to use her insights to assist teams in dealing with the pressure of such events and achieving success on the field.
While acknowledging Sri Lanka, Ireland, and Thailand as favorites, Sana highlighted the potential of teams like Scotland, Netherlands, UAE, Uganda, and Zimbabwe to cause major upsets and progress through to the final stages.
In particular, Sana expressed her keenness to witness the progress of Zimbabwe players whom she mentored during the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa. She emphasized the importance of regional events and the Qualifier in the growth of women’s cricket globally.
“The players are playing a lot more and getting decent exposure through their domestic tournaments and the ICC pathway programme. For women’s cricket to grow further, the regional events and the Qualifier are incredibly important. While Sri Lanka and Ireland will probably be favourites to qualify alongside Thailand, teams like Scotland, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Uganda and Zimbabwe surely have the potential to cause major upsets and make their way through to the semis and eventually to the final as well.
“I am particularly keen to see the progress of some of the Zimbabwe players whom I worked with in my mentorship role during the inaugural ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa last year.”
The ten participating teams are divided into two groups: Group A (Scotland, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, USA) and Group B (Ireland, Netherlands, UAE, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe). The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, with the winners securing their place in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
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