KARACHI: Pakistan women’s cricket team has confirmed a change in the squad for the tour of South Africa, with off-spinning all-rounder Umm-e-Hani replacing Ramin Shami, who was ruled out due to injury.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced this on Tuesday.
Ramin suffered a dislocation of his left thumb IPJ during a training session at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi. He will be sidelined for four to six weeks and is expected to begin his rehabilitation immediately.
Um-e-Hani, who was recently named the Pakistan Women’s ‘A’ captain for the ACC Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars team, will now join the senior team.
Omaima Sohail has replaced him in the ‘A’ team. Hafza Khalid has also been appointed as Pakistan Women’s ‘A’ captain for the 20-over tournament to be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Pakistan Women’s T20I team will leave for South Africa on February 7, while the ‘A’ team will leave for Bangkok on February 10.
Fatima Sana will continue to lead the national team in both formats as Pakistan intensify preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 scheduled for June.
A number of players including Alia Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Gul Feroza, Muneefa Ali, Nashra Sundu, Natalia Parvaiz, Sadia Iqbal, Chitra Amin and Tasmia Roop have been featured in both the teams.
Unbeaten batsman Saira Zabeen and right-arm fast bowler Hamna Bilal have been called up to the T20 squad for the first time.
Openers Ayesha Jafar and Gul Feroza, left-arm fast bowler Tasmiya Roopab and wicketkeeper-batsman Najiha Alvi have been included in the 15-member ODI squad that has been dropped from selection for the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup.
Diana Baig, Najiha Alvi, Shatab Shams and Syeda Aroop Shah have featured exclusively in the ODI squad, while Hamna Bilal, Saira Zabeen, Tuba Hasan and Ayman Fatima have only featured in the T20 squad.
The team will be supported by experienced coaches including Wahab Riaz, batting coach Imran Farhad, pace coach Umayd Asif, spin coach Abdur Rahman and fielding coach Abdul Majeed.
The pre-series training camp will begin on Sunday, February 1, at the Hanif Muhammad High Performance Center in Karachi.
Three T20 matches will be held from February 10 to 16 in Potchefstroom, Benoni and Kimberley, all scheduled as day-night matches.
Pakistan will play a 50-over practice match in Kimberley before the ODI series in Bloemfontein, Centurion and Durban from February 22 to March 1.
The second ODI will be a day-night match, practice match, first ODI and third ODI will be day matches.
Pakistan Women return to South Africa for a bilateral series for the first time since January 2021 when they played a three-match ODI series in Durban.
The team last toured the country for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in February 2023, playing matches in Cape Town and Paarl.
Pakistan Women T20 Team:
Fatima Sana (catch), Alia Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Ayman Fatima, Gul Feroza (week), Hamna Bilal, Muneefa Ali (week), Nashra Sundu, Natalia Parvaiz, Umm-i-Hani, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Zabeen, Chitra Amin, Tasmiya Rubab and Tasmiya.
Pakistan Women’s ODI Team:
Fatima Sana (catch), Alia Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Gul Feroza, Muneefa Ali (week), Najiha Alvi (week), Nashra Sundu, Natalia Parvaiz, Umm-e-Hani, Shatab Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Chitra Amin, Syeda Arup Shab and Das Arup Shab.