THE 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are only a matter of weeks away, and Cricket is making its triumphant return to the schedule at these Games. In preparation, we will be taking a look at each of the competing nations to see how they stack up.

Today we are taking a look at Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of many countries that will be looking for a better showing at the Commonwealth Games than they gave at the last T20 World Cup.

Two years ago the Pakistani’s only managed one win, which was against the West Indies, and although the match was ultimately a no result, they were heading for a loss against lowly Thailand. Heading into the tournament, coach David Hemp (former coach of the Melbourne Stars WBBL team) has gone for a youthful approach to picking his squad for this tournament.

Former captain Javeria Khan did not make the team for the Games, but the likes of young up and coming stars Tuba Hussan and Ayesha Naseem. Despite the youth of much of the side, there are still a few experienced heads in the side that will look to lead the side through the tournament.

The squad is led by skipper Bismah Maroof, who at 30 years-old and having made her T20 international debut back in 2009 has a lot of experience and has been around for longer then even the best from Australia and India. Another experienced face in the Pakistan side is Nida Dar, who at 35 has also been round the system a long time and has no doubt seen a lot of things in her time.

In terms of Pakistan’s schedule at these Games, the Pakistani’s are definitely in the easier pool, but that may not be enough for them to progress out of the group stage.

Their schedule also gets progressively harder as the tournament goes along too, so although they should account for Barbados, it is going to be quite the challenge to overcome the might of the Indians or the Australians. No recent history in the T20 format against the Indians, and the fact they play the West Indians normally as opposed to just Barbados, is certainly not going to help Pakistan’s cause.

Pakistani Squad

Bismah Maroof, Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Tuba Hassan.

Pakistan’s Schedule

Friday 29 July – Barbados
Sunday 31 July – India
Wednesday 3 August – Australia