PCB to hold nationwide trials for women cricketers to develop talent-grooming structure

Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to host multiple trials nationwide to unearth women cricketers at the grassroots level. The trials will start on August 23 in Karachi and Multan while on August 24, it will shift to Bahawalpur and Lahore. After a small break, it will resume on August 28 in Rawalpindi again, and on August 29, it will move to Peshawar. The final two days will see the trials taking place in Abbottabad (August 30) and Quetta (August 31).

Meanwhile, the trials will be conducted by the National Selection Committee, which comprises the likes of former cricketers Saleem Jaffer, Asmavia Iqbal and Marina Iqbal. The entire process will be conducted for three age groups - U19, in which the cricketers born after September 1, 2004, are eligible. The remaining two are emerging and senior cricketers.

“We have recently awarded first-ever domestic contracts to 74 women cricketers, setting the tone for a brighter future in women's cricket. With the nationwide trials, we are eagerly poised to bring in a new wave of talented individuals forward. We have a great and exciting amount of women’s cricket events ahead, and these trials will help us identify splendid talent that the selectors can consider for the national teams’ squads,” Tania Mallick, head of women’s cricket was quoted as saying by Cricket World.

Notably, the main motive to host these trials is to identify players who can feature in Pakistan’s U-19 and Emerging squads. The Emerging squad will be hosting West Indies later in the year, while the U-19 team are slated to participate in a triangular event involving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Bangladesh in January 2024.

When it comes to the senior squad, Pakistan are set to host South Africa in a three-match series. They are currently fourth on the list of Women’s Championship, and if they do well against Proteas, they can improve their ranking and even move to the top of the table.