Why Zainab Abbas deserves a shoutout on Women's Day

They said that cricket is a male dominated sport. It’s 2017 now, and that sure is changing.

Women have made a step forward in the field of sports and that is no mystery now. They represent their country on the International level, bring laurels and are on the route of recognition despite the hurdles that very much exist even today. Whether it’s the women’s cricket team of a country or the women covering the sport, it’s only a step forward towards progress and a change, for the good.

From Firdose Moonda of South Africa, to Melinda Farrell of Australia, from Mayanti Langer of India to Zainab Abbas of Pakistan, the girl power is only compelling people to fall in love with cricket more. The recently concluded PSL was surely a cricket league to remember, but what made it even more interesting was the presence of Zainab Abbas as its host again.

She is one of Pakistan’s eminent journalists and one of the best sports analysts that exist. Broadcast sports for women in this field often leads to women being ‘misused’ as eye-candy. However, that has not been the case for Zainab. Despite belonging to an Islamic country, Zainab has earned a reputation and became a favourite for people not just in Pakistan, but many cricket-playing countries.

She surely has inspired many young women who are passionate about cricket to pave their way through and make it big, just like she did. Her show Cricket Dewangi on Dunya News had showcased her talent long back and since then, it has only been one step forward for her each time. She has earned her position as host in both the seasons of PSL with the likes of Alan Wilkins, Rameez Raja, et al.

Her twitter bio reads: “Cricket is my life. Hopelessly, shamelessly addicted to this sport.”

Honestly, her love for it shows. She has always been very vocal about her views and very objective when stating them. She is straight-forward, articulate and has a brilliant cricketing mind. She comes from a cricket-loving family and is the daughter of Andleeb Abbas who has had a great role in the rehabilitation of cricketers. It’s wouldn’t be surprising if more wards of cricket loving families channel their passion towards to the sport, like she did. Let’s make cricket great again?!

Her Twitter handle keeps her followers in touch with the dressing room and the backstage activity of the sport and is very open with her opinions of the game. Her nuances are some to look forward to. As you would expect, she is also the sole reason for many people to follow the PSL in the hope of catching glimpses of her. When asked about favourite “Zainab moments in PSL”, we had three winners:

Zainab interviewing Peshawar Zalmi owner, Javed Afridi

Cricket just got prettier when Sania Mirza and Zainab Abbas got together

The combination of Bismah Maroof, Momina Mustehsan and Zainab Abbas is what the world needs to see more often

Despite her deep involvement in cricket, she is the perfect definition of beauty with brains. A writer, analyst and a host with knowledge that could give many in the business a run for their money, Zainab also has the girl next door vibes. She can gracefully and confidently conduct an interview with Imran Khan, Shahid Afridi or Muhammad Amir and also wing the eyeliner, and style her coat in the most stylish way. The bottom line is, she hasn’t let her love for fashion and makeup take a back seat despite her commitments to her job.

Everytime we see Zainab Abbas:

Zainab Abbas is one among many women who have unknowingly encouraged many young girls across the world to speak confidently what they feel about the sport, voice their opinions and give their inputs. Cricket is beautiful, and the presence of women with views and aspirations like her enhance the beauty of the game even more. CricTracker followers feel strongly about cricket and it will be nice to see them appreciate the women athletes all over the world along with all female sports journalists who make their presence felt with their knowledge.