Had to do our own laundry but passion for cricket never faded: Marina Iqbal

“Cricket was there in me from childhood. I played school cricket with the boys,” Marina was quoted as saying in a video interview with Grassroots Cricket Show. “Then in college, I got a proper opportunity to develop my game. In 2009 when women’s cricket came under Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) I went for the trials in Lahore without informing my family. So it all started from there on.”

“I was in the top 18 of the Pakistan camp thrice. But then PCB appointed me as the skipper of the Pakistan A side and gradually got into the senior side. I still remember I was selected for the T20 World Cup. Before that, we had the Ireland series. The moment I got my Pakistan jersey it felt like a responsibility of representing my own country.”      

With no idea what international cricket looks like initially, which was obviously because of lack of opportunities, it was more of working in individual games that the players emphasised on. The players even had to do their own laundries, but the passion for the game never took a back step and it is because of that same obsession that brought them at this level.

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“Initially, although women’s cricket was shaping up, there was a lack of facilities and infrastructures definitely. The coaches who came at that time, didn’t have much idea about women’s cricket and there was obviously a barrier in between,” said Marina.

“The players didn’t even know how international cricket looked like and that’s because of limited chances to play at the top level. Even we didn’t get domestic cricket regularly. So whatever the bunch trained was basically on individual games. I still remember when I used to go to the NCC ground for nets where all boys trained and only one or two girls used to come.

“Obviously, being a girl it is always difficult in this society. We used to get 300 Pakistani rupees as daily allowance, had to do our own laundry, and whichever ground we used to get, we just played cricket. We had only two dressing rooms in Abbottabad and 14 players were confined to each dressing room.  The only thing that drove us was the passion for the game. We made that initial struggle and that’s why today we are able to enjoy the luxuries,” she added.

Time and again it has come up about Pakistan not producing good fast bowlers at a consistent level despite having the talent. Regarding the issue, Marina said, “Honestly speaking, there has been a bridge of consistency in the last few years. In the past, there were Kanta and Asmavia Iqbal, especially Asmavia because she was a genuine pacer.”

“Coming to recent days, we have Maham Tariq, Kainat Imtiaz and currently we are having Diana Baig, Fatima Sana has also come in. So, fast bowlers are coming in. the reason behind the gap is that they didn’t get proper exposure and the grooming that is required at the grassroots level. We somewhere lacked in grooming them but we have the talent,” added Marina, who retired from the game in 2017.

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Marina, who idolised former England skipper Kevin Pietersen while growing up, also threw light on the talent pool in the country at the domestic level and Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) plans on making an awareness at the grassroots level.

“We had U-18 category trials across Pakistan for the U-19 World Cup (2020) and what we saw was praiseworthy. Despite not having all the facilities, the level of players we have got is unbelievable. Talent is everywhere in Pakistan and the way things are being channelised, I am pretty sure we are going to see something big in the future and it will also give a pathway for the aspiring cricketers to make a career,” added Marina.

“We have also increased the number of domestic tournaments from two to three. So I think the way these things will get aligned, we will get more players and more teams for tournaments,” she said when asked if Pakistan can think of a domestic tournament in the future.

“We have targeted five zonal academies, the main motto of this is to spread the game across the country, to give the kids a safe environment to play cricket. Besides we also have educational programmes and the support from the parents is a must because alone PCB can’t do this thing.”

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Speaking about legendary Sana Mir, who recently retired from the game following exclusion from the T20 World Cup, she said, it was a completely performance-based decision.

“Full respect to Sana Mir, she has been a true legend for Pakistan. But if you see her career, she has better stats in ODIs than T20Is. After she skipped the England series, she came back in the domestic T20 tournament and her performance was low. So the backup we had at that time, they performed extraordinarily. There is no question on her credibility but for Pakistan cricket at the end of the day, it’s the performance that gets counted,” said Marina, who went to England on her own to do a commentary course.

There have been rumours some international players have threatened to quit the game because of their exclusion from the central contracts which came out recently. “Central contracts have been performance-based and will remain the same,” Marina was bang on the issue.

“The players should keep it in mind that they have to earn it by performances. Playing or not playing cricket is someone’s personal thing, but when you are in national setup then it’s all about only Pakistan collectively. On the domestic level, the tournaments have increased, the match fees and prize money have also increased,” she concluded.