Nida Dar has been appointed as the Pakistan women’s team captain, Mark Coles has been confirmed as the head coach while former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar has been named as the chair of the Women’s Selection Committee in key appointments, which were approved by the Chair of the PCB Management Committee Mr. Najam Sethi.
The appointments have been made in light of the PCB’s vision and strategy to invest further into women’s cricket and keeping in mind the upcoming international assignments, including hosting South Africa and tours to Bangladesh and New Zealand for the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 fixtures.
Overall, in an 11-month period from August 2023 to July 2024, Pakistan women’s team is scheduled to play five bilateral cricket series comprising a total of 15 ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 ODIs.
In addition to these 50-over matches, Pakistan will play as many as 17 T20Is. These ODIs and T20Is will lead to the 10-team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and the eight-team ICC Women’s World Cup in India, which will be held in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Nida won the PCB Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2021 and replaces Bismah Maroof, who stepped down from captaincy following the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
Nida is one of the most experienced players in the country, having represented Pakistan in 130 T20Is and 99 ODIs. She is also the leading wicket-taker in T20I women’s cricket with 126 wickets to her name.
Nida was also a member of the Pakistan side that won the Asian Games gold in 2010 and 2014 in Guangzhou, China, and Incheon, South Korea. In 2019, she became the first Pakistan women’s cricketer to feature in Australia’s women’s franchise cricket.
Najam Sethi: “I want to congratulate Nida, Mark, and Saleem on their appointments. Nida is a seasoned and highly-respected player, Mark has a proven track record in women’s cricket coaching and Saleem brings with him a wealth of international experience and knowledge.
“We are confident this combination will not only attract and help young cricketers to fulfill their dreams of becoming top-quality international cricketers but will also ensure the side as a whole emulates their previous performances and achievements.
“I remain confident under the supervision and guile of Nida, Mark, and Saleem, Pakistan women’s cricket will grow and flourish.”
Mark Coles previously served as Pakistan women’s cricket team head coach from 2017 to 2019 and during his time, the side achieved major results, including a fifth finish in the ICC Women’s Championship 2017-2020 that paved the way for the side to feature in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
Present members of Coles’ coaching team are Mohtashim Rasheed (fielding coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), and Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach).
