Misusing authority: Biased attitudes plague women’s cricket, says Jamal

Omar Associates coach plans drastic action after players snubbed in WI touring squad

KARACHI: As the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Women’s Wing announced a 16-member squad for the tour of the West Indies on Thursday, Omar Associates women’s cricket team coach Adnan Jamal is pondering whether to shut down their operations following the snubbing of three promising players — Kainat Imtiaz, Sadia Yousuf and Nahida Khan Bibi — from the touring squad.

Jamal claims that national skipper Sana Mir and the stakeholders of Pakistan women’s cricket — selector Farrukh Zaman and coach Mohtashim Rashid — are biased in their selection of players from his department and has requested the PCB to look into the matter.

“The PCB hasn’t been monitoring the activities in women’s cricket and thus the trio of Sana, Farrukh and Mohtashim are doing whatever they want without any accountability,” Jamal told The Express Tribune. “We are currently in the process of deciding whether to shut down our women’s team, because these biased attitudes are not fair on the players who work extremely hard to get into the national side.”

It is pertinent to mention that previously only ZTBL, Pakistan’s first women’s departmental team, used to supply players for the national side. However, in 2013, Omar Associates also emerged as a strong option to provide opportunities to the players to vie for a place in the national squad.



Since then, the players who have left ZTBL are either subjected to unfair opportunities in the team or are placed in reserve and according to Jamal, the PCB should either ensure transparency in the selection process or end its affiliation with women’s cricket.

“Kainat and Sadia are among Pakistan’s best players but they are being subjected to discrimination only because they play in a different department and can potentially replace senior players,” said Jamal. “If the PCB cannot handle women’s cricket efficiently, then it should end its affiliation with them.”

The other side

One of the stakeholders, Zaman, denied such claims and stated that the team is currently trying out different combinations before the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 scheduled to take place in India, as they will not have time to experiment before the mega event.

“There is no discrimination in women’s cricket,” Zaman told The Express Tribune. “We are trying out various combinations for the World Cup because we will not have time before the mega event.  Ayesha Zafar and Diana Baig have not featured in the national side before, while Aliya Riaz has only played three games. These girls require some game time so that we can assess their form.”

Team manager Ayesha Ashar, meanwhile, refused to comment on why the trio was not selected but insisted that the girls should wait for their opportunity to feature in the national side.

“Kainat, Sadia and Nahida all are really talented girls but I cannot answer why they were not selected in the touring squad,” said Ayesha. “That decision lies with the stakeholders. For me all 20 girls are equal and I’m sure they will bounce back from this.”

The women’s team is scheduled to tour the West Indies from October 14 for a series comprising four ODIs and three T20s. Three of the four one-dayers are part of the ICC Women’s Championship, which also serves as a qualification process for the 2017 Women’s World Cup.

The 16-member squad led by Sana is made up of Bismah Maroof, Syeda Nain Abidi, Nida Rashid, Rabiya Shah, Asmavia Iqbal Khokhar, Javeria Wadood, Sania Iqbal, Marina Iqbal, Sumaiya Siddiqui, Sidra Amin, Iram Javed, Diana, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin and Ayesha.

Reserves include Sidra Nawaz, Nahida, Kainat and Sadia.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th,  2015.

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