Not that long ago, Pakistan women cricketers were fighting just to get permission to play in public. That fight is history now. The “Women in Green” are a full ICC member with a settled captain, a domestic setup that’s slowly filling out, and a calendar packed enough to make anyone’s head spin – a T20 World Cup campaign in England, a full home season, and right now, a continental title chase at the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai. The rankings still tell a tougher story, though. Pakistan sit in the bottom half of the table and are still hunting for that elusive first major ICC trophy.
At a Glance
| Detail | Information |
| Full name | Pakistan Women’s National Cricket Team |
| Nickname | Women in Green |
| Governing body | Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) |
| ICC status | Full Member |
| Captain (all formats) | Fatima Sana |
| Home grounds | National Stadium Karachi, Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium |
| ODI ranking | 9th |
| T20I ranking | 8th |
| First official international | v New Zealand, Christchurch, 28 January 1997 |
| Best ODI World Cup finish | 5th place / Super Six (2009) |
| Best T20 World Cup finish | Group/first-round exit in every edition contested |
| Asian Games record | Gold medals in 2010 and 2014 |
The women’s team plays under the same green shirt and crescent-and-star crest as the men, and everything runs through the PCB’s women’s wing, set up back in 2005. One big difference from the men’s side: there’s been no Test cricket since 2004. This is a white-ball team through and through now, living almost entirely in ODIs and T20Is.
Captain of the Pakistan National Women Cricket Team
Fatima Sana has captained the team in both formats since August 2024, when the PCB’s selectors decided to move on from Nida Dar just prior to that year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. Sana had been 22 at the time — a bold move, but the board was clearly looking towards a longer-term plan, and wanted someone who could grow into the role alongside a young core through the 2025 ODI World Cup and beyond.
She’d already tasted captaincy before the full-time job came her way, including a Super Over win over New Zealand at Hagley Oval while filling in for Dar. Since taking over properly, she’s led the side through:
- The Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the UAE
- A home white-ball season against South Africa
- The ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Lahore, where Pakistan went through unbeaten
- The 2025 ODI World Cup in Sri Lanka and India
- Home series against South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2026
- The Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England
- The Women’s Asia Cup 2026, currently underway in Dubai
There’s a harder story behind the numbers, too. Sana lost her father – a former Pakistan Air Force officer – during the 2024 T20 World Cup, and still chose to come back and captain the side in its final match of that tournament. People close to the team point to that moment a lot when they talk about the resilience she’s tried to build into a young dressing room.
Captaincy Timeline
| Period | Captain |
| 2013–2020 | Sana Mir (with brief exceptions) / Bismah Maroof |
| 2020–2023 | Bismah Maroof |
| April 2023 – August 2024 | Nida Dar |
| August 2024 – present | Fatima Sana |
Bismah Maroof – Pakistan’s most capped player and its all-time top scorer – gave up the captaincy in early 2023 after a rough T20 World Cup on home turf. Nida Dar, who still holds Pakistan’s T20I wicket-taking record, stepped in but didn’t last long past a semi-final exit to Sri Lanka at the 2024 Asia Cup. That’s what opened the door for Sana.
A Short History of Women’s Cricket in Pakistan
This is a young story, in cricketing terms. Sisters Shaiza Khan and Sharmeen Khan get the credit for starting it all in 1996, though the early board had to fight hard for government clearance – there was real pushback on religious and cultural grounds before women were allowed to play publicly at all. Clearance eventually came through, and Pakistan’s first official internationals were against New Zealand in January 1997. They lost every game on that tour.
Pakistan Women’s ICC World Cup Timeline
ODI World Cup (50-over) Appearances
| Year | Host | Result |
| 1997 | New Zealand and India (qualifying tour) | Did not qualify for main event that cycle |
| 2000 | New Zealand | Did not participate |
| 2005 | South Africa | Did not participate |
| 2009 | Australia | Super Six stage (best-ever finish) |
| 2013 | India | Group stage |
| 2017 | England | Group stage |
| 2022 | New Zealand | Group stage |
| 2025 | India / Sri Lanka | Group stage |
Pakistan’s early World Cup record is patchy simply because they weren’t yet strong enough to qualify or get invited consistently. Since 2009, when access became more reliable, they haven’t been able to get past the group stage in a single edition – sixteen-plus years on, that Super Six run is still the high point.
T20 World Cup Appearances
| Year | Host | Result |
| 2009 | England | First round |
| 2010 | West Indies | First round |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | First round |
| 2014 | Bangladesh | First round |
| 2016 | India | First round |
| 2018 | West Indies | First round |
| 2020 | Australia | First round |
| 2023 | South Africa | First round |
| 2024 | United Arab Emirates | First round |
| 2026 | England | First round (Group 1, 5th of 6) |
The men’s side has a T20 World Cup title (2009) and a Champions Trophy (2017) to show off. The women haven’t gone past the first round of any global T20 event yet. The closest they’ve come to silverware anywhere is runner-up finishes at the Women’s Asia Cup – most recently in 2022 and 2018 – plus semi-final appearances in the two editions before this year’s.
Current ICC Rankings for Pakistan Women
Per the ICC’s official rankings around the time of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026:
| Format | Ranking | Rating |
| Women’s ODI | 9th | 73 |
| Women’s T20I | 8th | 212 |
Australia, England, South Africa, India, New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka all sit above Pakistan in both formats. Against teams like Thailand, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, and Ireland, Pakistan hold their own comfortably enough. It’s the jump up to the “big five” – Australia, England, India, South Africa, New Zealand – where things get difficult, and that gap shows up most in the 50-over game.
Pakistan Women’s Squad for 2026
Through 2025 and into 2026, the PCB has been blending its experienced core with a steady stream of younger players. The group below has featured across the South Africa series, the Zimbabwe series, the T20 World Cup in England, and now the Asia Cup in Dubai.
Core Squad (2025–26 White-Ball Cycle)
| Player | Role | Batting/Bowling Style |
| Fatima Sana (captain) | All-rounder | Right-arm medium fast |
| Muneeba Ali | Wicketkeeper-batter | Left-handed batter |
| Sidra Ameen | Top-order batter | Right-handed batter |
| Sadaf Shamas | Top-order batter | Right-handed batter |
| Ayesha Zafar | Batter | Right-handed batter |
| Aliya Riaz | All-rounder | Right-arm off-break |
| Nida Dar | All-rounder | Right-arm off-break |
| Gull Feroza | Batter | Right-handed batter |
| Eyman Fatima | Batter | Right-handed batter |
| Eman Naseer | Batter/all-rounder | Right-handed |
| Umm-e-Hani | Batter | Right-handed batter |
| Saira Jabeen | All-rounder | Right-arm |
| Momina Riasat | All-rounder | Right-arm |
| Shawaal Zulfiqar | Top-order batter | Left-handed batter |
| Sadia Iqbal | Spin bowler | Left-arm orthodox |
| Nashra Sandhu | Spin bowler | Left-arm orthodox |
| Tuba Hassan | Spin bowler | Leg-break |
| Syeda Aroob Shah | Spin bowler | Leg-break |
| Diana Baig | Fast bowler | Right-arm medium |
| Ghulam Fatima | Fast bowler | Right-arm medium |
| Sana Fatima | Fast bowler | Right-arm |
| Waheeda Akhtar | All-rounder | – |
| Iram Javed | Batter | Right-handed batter |
| Natalia Parvaiz | All-rounder | – |
| Rameen Shamim | Bowler | – |
| Najiha Alvi | Wicketkeeper-batter | Left-handed batter |
| Sidra Nawaz | Wicketkeeper-batter | Right-handed batter |
| Amber Kainat | All-rounder | – |
| Tasmia Rubab | Fast bowler | Left-arm |
Not everyone here plays every series – squads get named separately for each tour or tournament, typically 15 to 18 players, with the final XI depending on conditions and opponent.
Squad for the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 (Dubai)
Fatima Sana (captain), Ayesha Zafar, Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Momina Riasat, Muneeba Ali (wicketkeeper), Sadaf Shamas, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar.
Squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 (England)
Fatima Sana (captain), Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Iram Javed, Eyman Fatima, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Parvaiz, Saira Jabeen, Muneeba Ali, Tuba Hassan, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, and other squad members named by the selection panel for the England tour.
Coaching and Support Staff
| Role | Name |
| Batting coach | Taufeeq Umar |
| Bowling coach | Kamran Hussain |
| Team manager | Nahida Khan |
Former England international Mark Coles ran the show as head coach for a stretch, steering the team through a few T20 World Cup cycles. Since then, the PCB has moved to a specialist setup – dedicated batting and bowling coaches working alongside the captain and management, closer to how the men’s senior team operates.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England: Full Breakdown
The 10th Women’s T20 World Cup was held in England from June 12 to July 5, 2026. The competition has been expanded for the first time and now unites 12 teams. Pakistan was placed in Group 1 with Australia, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, and debutants Netherlands – a challenging company for the Pakistani women’s team, as four of the five opponents are ranked higher than them.
Pakistan’s Group 1 Results
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| June 14 | India | Birmingham | Lost by 64 runs |
| June 17 | South Africa | Birmingham | Lost by 2 wickets |
| – | Bangladesh | Southampton | Lost by 23 runs |
| – | Australia | Leeds | Lost by 113 runs |
| June 27 | Netherlands | Bristol | Won by 37 runs |
The solitary victory was against Netherlands in the final group match, which saw Pakistan already eliminated. Australia’s 113-run rout in Leeds was their low point, a two-wicket defeat by South Africa the closest they came to an upset. The India match in Birmingham drew most attention, but India’s Deepti Sharma dismissed the entire Pakistan batting order – 5 for 10 – as Pakistan chased down 171.
Fifth of six in Group 1, along with India, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. England advanced from Group 2 with West Indies, while Australia and South Africa made up the semi-final field from Group 1.
Women’s Asia Cup 2026: Pakistan’s Ongoing Campaign
This year’s Women’s Asia Cup, which goes by the name of ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026, will be played in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, which will host the knockout matches from August 28 to September 13. Eight teams, which were split into two groups of four, took part in the tournament. Group A consists of India, Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong, China, while Group B is made of the defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the hosts UAE and debutants Indonesia. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals on September 10 and 11, followed by the final on September 13.
Pakistan arrived in the UAE on August 26, after spending ten days in a preparatory camp in the National Cricket Academy. Fatima Sana’s words to the team have been to take it one game at a time.
Schedule and Results So Far
| Date | Opponent | Result |
| September 1 | Thailand | Won by 35 runs |
| September 5 | India | Upcoming |
| September 7 | Hong Kong, China | Upcoming |
The opener against Thailand went Pakistan’s way, though not without a scare. Batting first, they slipped to 23 for 3 inside the powerplay – captain Fatima Sana out for a duck – before Muneeba Ali steadied things with a fighting 54 off 52 balls, dragging the total to 119 for 9. Late runs from Umm-e-Hani (17) and an unbeaten 12 from Tuba Hassan helped pad the score.
Pakistan have never actually won this tournament. Two runner-up finishes (most recently 2022) and back-to-back semi-final appearances before this year – so there’s still a gap to close, and this Asia Cup is another shot at finally closing it.
Format-Wise Performance Numbers
Taken together, Pakistan’s career numbers across ODIs and T20Is tell a familiar story – a much deeper T20I history than ODI history, which lines up with how the shorter format has come to dominate the women’s game worldwide.
| Format | Total Matches Played (career) | World Cup Appearances | Best World Cup Result |
| Tests | 3 | – | – |
| One Day Internationals | 230+ | 5 (first in 1997/main events from 2009) | 5th place (2009, Super Six) |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 189+ | 9 (first in 2009) | First round in every edition |
Test cricket is essentially frozen for this team. The last one – only the third they’ve ever played – was against West Indies at Karachi’s National Stadium in March 2004, and nothing’s been scheduled since. That’s not really a Pakistan-specific story, though; it mirrors the global drift of women’s cricket toward white-ball formats almost exclusively.
Standout and Record-Breaking Players
A handful of players have shaped Pakistan women’s cricket over the past two decades, and their numbers still set the bar for the current group.
All-Time Leading ODI Run-Scorers
| Player | Runs | Average | Career Span |
| Bismah Maroof | 3,278 | 29.53 | 2006–2023 |
| Javeria Khan | 2,885 | 28.56 | 2008–2022 |
| Sidra Ameen | 1,674 | 28.86 | 2011–2023 (still active) |
| Sana Mir | 1,630 | 17.91 | 2005–2021 |
All-Time Leading T20I Run-Scorers
| Player | Runs | Average | Career Span |
| Bismah Maroof | 2,893 | 27.55 | 2009–2023 |
| Javeria Khan | 2,018 | 21.69 | 2009–2023 |
| Nida Dar | 1,839+ | 18.02 | 2010–present |
| Nain Abidi | 972 | 18.00 | – |
| Muneeba Ali | 1,800+ | – | 2018–present (over 1,000 T20I runs, with two centuries and five fifties) |
Major Achievements in Pakistan Women’s Cricket History
| Year | Achievement |
| 2009 | Super Six finish at the ODI World Cup – Pakistan’s best-ever World Cup result |
| 2010 | Gold medal at the Asian Games (Guangzhou), beating Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the final |
| 2012 | Runners-up at the Women’s Asia Cup (T20 format, in Guangzhou), losing to India by 18 runs |
| 2014 | Gold medal at the Asian Games (Incheon), beating Bangladesh by 6 runs in the final |
| 2016 | Runners-up at the Women’s Asia Cup |
| 2018 | Runners-up at the Women’s Asia Cup |
| 2022 | Runners-up at the Women’s Asia Cup |
| 2023 | Unbeaten run at the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier held in Lahore, sealing a place at the 2025 ODI World Cup |
Ask anyone connected to the team what they’re proudest of, and those two Asian Games golds usually come up first – proof, as they see it, that Pakistan can compete at the top of Asian cricket when things line up, even if that form hasn’t yet turned into an ICC global or continental trophy.
Why Pakistan Still Struggles Against the Top Sides
Look back across the 2025-26 season and the pattern is pretty stark: Pakistan handle Associate and lower-ranked Full Member teams like Thailand, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands just fine, often comfortably – but the established “big five” of Australia, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa are a different story entirely.
It hasn’t all been bleak. Sadaf Shamas and Gull Feroza’s maiden ODI centuries against Zimbabwe, Muneeba Ali’s steady form with the bat, Fatima Sana’s growing all-round numbers as captain – these are real bright spots. The question is whether any of it turns into consistent wins against the top teams, and that’s really the whole challenge facing this team through the rest of 2026.
How Fans Should Track the Team the Right Way
Pakistan’s calendar has gotten busy enough that judging the team off one headline result is a bad habit to get into. A few things help instead:
- Check the PCB’s official website and social channels regularly – tour dates and squads shift close to a series more often than you’d think.
- Follow the ICC Women’s Championship points table for ODI form rather than isolated scorelines, since it captures context across a full cycle.
- Read post-match reports and player interviews – they usually explain selection calls, workload decisions, and injuries better than a single result can.
- Track T20I and ODI form separately. Pakistan’s numbers in each format can look wildly different depending on personnel and conditions.
- Remember net run rate matters as much as wins and losses in group-stage tournaments like the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup – teams get eliminated or advance on margins alone.
FAQs
Fatima Sana is the captain across both ODI and T20I formats, having taken over from Nida Dar in August 2024.
As of the 2026 season, Pakistan are ranked 9th in Women’s ODIs and 8th in Women’s T20Is.
No. Pakistan’s best finish at the ODI World Cup is the Super Six stage in 2009, and the team has never progressed past the first round of the T20 World Cup.
Gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games, along with two runner-up finishes at the Women’s Asia Cup, are generally regarded as the team’s standout achievements.
Bismah Maroof, with 3,278 ODI runs and 2,893 T20I runs across her career, remains the leading run-getter in both formats.
Nida Dar holds that record and has long been recognised as one of the most prolific bowlers in women’s T20I cricket worldwide.
Pakistan finished bottom of the eight-team table without a win, losing to Bangladesh, India, Australia, and South Africa, with three matches washed out by rain in Colombo.
Pakistan finished fifth of six teams in Group 1, winning only their final group match against Netherlands after losing to India, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Australia.
Yes. Pakistan are competing in Group A alongside India, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China, at the tournament being held in Dubai from August 28 to September 13, 2026. Pakistan opened with a 35-run win over Thailand on September 1.
Pakistan face India in Dubai on September 5, 2026, in what is expected to be the marquee fixture of the group stage.
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