Pakistan women’s captain Fatima Sana has been granted permission by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to skip the T20I leg of the upcoming Sri Lanka tour to honor her commitments with Birmingham Phoenix in the Women’s Hundred. However, she will remain with the national team for the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, part of the ICC Women’s Championship. Following the final ODI on July 28, she will head directly from Hambantota to England to join Birmingham Phoenix for the tournament’s remainder.
Sana made history recently as the first Pakistani woman cricketer to secure a contract in the Women’s Hundred after being signed by Birmingham Phoenix through the competition’s wildcard draft. Although she will miss the initial two fixtures for Phoenix due to international duties, she is expected to be present for the rest of the campaign.
Having excelled at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, despite Pakistan’s limited success in the group stage, Sana emerged as a standout performer with both bat and ball. She concluded the tournament as the leading fast bowler, securing 11 wickets with an economy rate of 6.95. Her performance also positioned her as the joint second-highest wicket-taker overall, alongside Australia’s Sophie Molineux, while India’s N. Shree Charani topped the wicket charts with 14 scalps.
Sana’s remarkable display at the Women’s T20 World Cup included a notable performance against South Africa, where she scored an unbeaten 55 off 38 deliveries and returned figures of 3 for 16 in an impressive all-round effort. The Women’s Hundred marks Sana’s third overseas franchise assignment, following her stints with the Barbados Royals in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League and the Canterbury Magicians in New Zealand’s Women’s Super Smash.
The PCB sanctioned Sana’s participation in the Women’s Hundred to offer her exposure in one of the premier women’s franchise competitions globally, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
