Nida Dar named captain of Pakistan women's cricket team
- 07 Apr 2023
Veteran all-rounder Nida Dar has been appointed as the captain of Pakistan womens cricket team, while Mark Coles has been reappointed as the head coach, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.
Dar, 36, replaces Bismah Maroof, who stepped down after Pakistan's disappointing performance in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in February, where they lost three of their four matches.
"The appointments — Dar as captain and Coles as coach — have been made in light of the PCB's vision and strategy to invest further into women's cricket," it said in a news release.
The PCB hopes the appointments will lift the team as they host South Africa in September and October and then on tours to Bangladesh and New Zealand between October and December.
Pakistan will also feature in the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and the eight-team ICC Women's World Cup in India in 2025.
Dar was a member of the Pakistan sides that won Asian Games gold in Guangzhou in 2010 and Incheon in 2014.
PCB also said former men's Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar has been named as the chair of the Women's Selection Committee. All three major appointments have been approved by Najam Sethi, the Chair of the PCB Management Committee.
Nida, the off-spin all-rounder, has represented Pakistan in 130 T20Is and 99 ODIs. She is also the leading wicket-taker in T20I women's cricket with 126 wickets to her name. Nida takes over the captaincy from Bismah Maroof, who stepped down from captaincy following the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
"I am honoured to have been appointed as the captain of the Pakistan women's cricket team. It is a huge responsibility, and I am excited to lead the team in the upcoming events. I want to thank the PCB for entrusting me with this responsibility and will do my best to take the team forward. I also want to thank Bismah Maroof for her services as the captain of the team. She has done a fantastic job, and I hope to continue her legacy and lead the team with the same passion and commitment," Nida said in her statement.
"The upcoming season of women's cricket is going to be a tough one. But we are fortunate to have some young exciting talent in our pool of players, which I am confident will significantly improve during the course and also help the side to produce strong performances.
“As a captain, my objective remains to inspire and mentor these young players to become quality cricketers. I will be extremely satisfied and content if we first break and then cement our place in the upper half of the ICC Women's Championship before slowly working our way into the top-three," she added.
On the other hand, Coles previously served as Pakistan's head coach from 2017 to 2019 and during his time, the side achieved major results, including a fifth finish in the ICC Women's Championship 2017-2020 that paved the way for the side to feature in the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022.
He will be joined by Mohtashim Rasheed (fielding coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach) and Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach) in the coaching staff.
"I am grateful to the PCB for giving me yet another opportunity to work with the talented Pakistan women's team. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of players and I look forward to the exciting times ahead as we aim to improve our previous performances and achievements," said Coles.
"We have a lot of potential in the team, and I look forward to helping the players to give their best and achieve success on the international stage," he said.
Agencies
