Pakistan cricket board has announced that Javeria Khan will lead the 15-member squad in the ICC ODI World Cup Qualifier that is scheduled to begin in Zimbabwe on November 20, 2021.
Coming on the back of the three-nil defeat against West Indies at home, Pakistan will face Bangladesh in the opening game of the global qualifying event.
The biggest positive for Pakistan would be the return of allrounder Nida Dar, who missed the ODI series against the West Indies due to the unfortunate demise of her father.
Meanwhile, Aiman Anwar, Maham Tariq and Rameen Shamim will travel with the squad as reserves in case of an injury. Team manager Fizza Abid, head coach David Hemp, assistant coach Arshad Khan (assistant coach), strength and condition coach Saboor Ahmad, analyst Zubair Ahmad and physiotherapist Rabia Siddiq would be travelling with the team.
They will depart for Zimbabwe on Tuesday (November 16) along with the West Indies squad, who are still in Pakistan after the conclusion of the three-match ODI series.
Though Pakistan players showed sparks of promises, they could not deliver as a team in the home series against Zimbabwe. With the spot in the ODI World Cup on the line, Pakistan would want their players to rise to the occasion and help them finish in the top three positions.
They are a part of Group B along with Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and USA. With West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands in Group A, the top three teams from both groups will qualify for the Super Six stages. There will be no knockout stage. The top three sides at the end of the tournament would qualify for the ODI World Cup in New Zealand.