Pakistan will get knocked out in the group stage itself. They don’t have the easiest of starts to their campaign facing India & South Africa first-up. 2 losses there and the campaign could spiral downwards despite a light at the end of the tunnel post Game 3 vs. Bangladesh. 2 wins in 5 games looming!
I expect India to win, but I have a feeling that Pakistan will end up giving a bit of a scare in certain moments and one player who could have a very good impact in that game + a positive campaign overall is Muneeba Ali.
THEY HAVE UNLOCKED THE TOP GEAR AFTER 16 YEARS – BUT CAN THEY DO IT AGAINST STRONGER TEAMS?
One major criticism of Pakistan over the years was their sluggish batting approach to get to a final score of 120-125, even in the best of batting conditions. They have had a change since 2025 and quite a drastic one with a focus on intent and boundary-scoring.
It’s been 18 years of T20I cricket for the Pakistan women’s team. Out of these 18 calendar years, there have been only 3 years when they have scored in excess of 6 per over. 2 of these have been 2025 & 2026.
It’s true that the Zimbabwe series played quite a significant part in helping them have a run-rate boost. But other than that series, there has been a decent intent shown against some of the other stronger teams in 2026. What is puzzling is that in 15 of these 18 years, their run-rate has been less than 6. So, this is a welcome change!
Remember: 2025 & 2026 have been Pakistan’s best years in their T20I history
WAKE UP ALIYA RIAZ
With 2025 & 2026 having been the best years, we have seen several batters up their game and show a drastic improvement in their strike-rate. Well, so how about Aliya Riaz?
Everyone has moved ahead, but Aliya has remained the same. It’s worst noting that it was the Zimbabwe series that has helped some of the batters get a statistical boost. Whereas, Aliya played/batted in 1/4 games in that series.
But there has been a lot of cricket for Pakistan and even without the series against Zimbabwe, the plot and the whole story remains the same.
My issue here is that these knocks from Aliya come despite her batting in a finisher’s position and after a great platform is laid by the top 5 in most games. In fact, she is the reason why Fatima Sana bats further down the order despite being the best in the side.
*NBSR – Non Boundary Strike Rate
The above stat reflects on how her growth has remained stagnant in Pakistan’s best years in comparison with the ones preceding it. In fact, given how low Pakistan’s run-rates used to be in all the other years (less than 6 runs per over), Aliya’s knocks were actually a bit of a net positive in those years.
When everyone has changed, Aliya has remained where she was before. She chews up dots despite boundaries being scored in good numbers. The last 4 knocks include 2 of the following:
48 (24) vs. Zimbabwe | Runs (balls) in boundaries = 40 (8) | Other 16 balls = 8 runs
37 (25) vs. West Indies | Runs (balls) in boundaries = 32 (8) | Other 17 balls = 5 runs
To describe this blatantly – It’s pretty shit to bat like this for a #6-7 batter!
ARE PAKISTAN WILLING TO ADD VARIETY?
It’s been a long time for Pakistan since they have been playing the two experienced left-arm spinners in Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sundhu. Make no mistake, both are quality and slightly different to each other despite being the same bowling type. In fact, they offer value across different phases.
However, both are struggling for a bit of form heading into the T20 World Cup. Sadia has had a good run since 2025, but had a poor tri-series. Whereas Nashra has struggled to pick wickets since 2025, but the tri-series went better for her. It’s not a lot of games in the tri-series, but the numbers in the few games haven’t been any good.
Both have terrible numbers in the Europe – their effectiveness falls massively. In England, where you don’t get spin-friendly surfaces, I wonder if Pakistan would be happy to just have Sadia Iqbal in the XI and look to replace Nashra with A) Tuba Hassan’s wrist-spin or B) Diana Baig’s pace option to support Fatima Sana
With Wahab Riaz in the setup, I won’t be surprised if Tasmia Rubab will be close to making it to the XI either.
FATIMA SANA’S BATTING BOOST, BUT BOWLING DIP
Fatima’s impact with the bat is unmatched. In fact, many are rightly questioning her batting position, which is puzzlingly low.
In the last 4 years, Fatima has had an economy of 8+ in 3 of them. Her worst T20I bowling numbers are in England. She’s setting the tone alright barring the odd game, but it’s too many boundary balls post-PP where she’s allowing the opponents to score big.
An economy of 7 in the Powerplay is jumping to an alarmingly high economy of 11 post-Powerplay. Despite the form, Diana Baig’s selection is crucial for Pakistan. At the moment, the pace duties are majorly on Fatima and that won’t help in the mega event for the conditions they will get at Birmingham, Southampton and Bristol. You want more pacers in your side!
EYMAN FATIMA IS A #5, NOT A #8 BATTER
It looked a one-off situation to me when I saw Eyman walk in at #8 in one of the tri-series games vs. West Indies. Maybe they wanted to arrest a collapse and hence, sent in Rameen Shamim at #5.
Cometh the T20 World Cup, I hope Eyman bats #5 irrespective of the situation she is walking in. Even if Pakistan are 29/3 as they were vs. the West Indies, it’d be better for them to send in Eyman to counter attack at #5.
Young career, young player and I know that her one major knock at #5 came against Zimbabwe, but I was impressed when I watched her in the U-19 World Cup. A good chance that she’d fail at that position against stronger teams, but she’s still Pakistan’s best bet for that particular batting spot.
Cricket Strategist 