LAHORE: Pakistan captain Fatima Sana on Saturday expressed confidence in leading the national team to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 to be held in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5.
The Green Shirts, fresh off a 3-0 win over Zimbabwe, are set to depart for Ireland where they will face the hosts and West Indies in a tri-series in Dublin from May 28 to June 4.
The national women’s cricketers have participated in a training camp here to prepare for the final stint before the mega event and their captain Fatima has extended her support to put up a strong performance in the Ireland tour and the T20 World Cup.
“By the grace of Almighty Allah, Ireland (tri-series) and the World Cup are ahead of us. We are preparing for that and are very excited as the last two-three months have been very good for us. So, we hope the team will give good results,” Fatima said during a media interaction on the sidelines of the training camp.
Pakistan, placed in Group 1, kick off the 2026 T20 World Cup on June 14 against arch-rivals India – often called cricket’s biggest tournament.
But their skipper played down the hype surrounding the match, instead saying his team was focused on the entire tournament.
“Obviously, we are well prepared, every match in the World Cup is an important event; also, T20 cricket can change anything quickly. So, we are not looking forward to any particular match,” Fatima said.
“Everyone knows, there is a good rivalry between India and Pakistan, so God willing, we will try to play well.”
After a tough challenge against arch-rivals India, Pakistan will face former champions Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands in the group stage, but captain Fatima Sana is confident of her team’s ability to challenge tough opponents.
“We are clear that we have to play our own way regardless of the opposition. We know our group is tough but we know that in T20 cricket anything can happen in a day. We cannot think that India and Australia are big teams,” Fatima said.
“In T20 cricket, a good innings, spell or run-out can change things, so we have confidence in our team and the results will continue.
“I want us to finish in the top four and I want to lead my team there with my good performance.”