Pakistan Star All-Rounder to Miss Sri Lanka T20 Series

Pakistan women’s captain Fatima Sana has been granted permission by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to miss the T20I leg of the Sri Lanka tour in order to represent Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred 2026.

The all-rounder will remain available for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, scheduled for July 23, 25 and 28 in Hambantota. The series is part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2025–27.

After the final ODI on July 28, Sana will travel to England to join Birmingham Phoenix for the remainder of The Hundred. Her ODI commitments mean she will miss Phoenix’s first two matches in the tournament.

She will also miss Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which is scheduled for July 31, August 2 and August 4.

Fatima Sana recently became the first Pakistan woman cricketer to secure a contract in the women’s edition of The Hundred after being picked by Birmingham Phoenix in the wildcard draft during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

The Hundred will be her third overseas domestic T20 competition. She previously played for Barbados Royals in the Women’s CPL in September 2022 and Canterbury in the Women’s Super Smash in December 2023.

The 24-year-old was added as Phoenix’s fourth overseas player after Cricket Australia withdrew Lucy Hamilton to manage her workload. She will earn the tournament’s minimum salary of £15,000, which is around Rs. 5.6 million.

The Hundred 2026 will be played from July 21 to August 16. This year’s edition will also be the first season since private investors took partial or full control of franchises following the sale of team stakes last year.

Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka comes after a disappointing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, where the Girls in Green were knocked out in the group stage after winning just one of their five matches.

Pakistan lost to India, South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia, while their only win came against the Netherlands in their final match of the tournament.