Pakistan announce squad for the World T20 without a captain

Pakistan has announced its 15 player squad for the upcoming World Twenty-20. Pakistan's regular skipper Bismah Maroof missed out, as she still recovers from her sinus surgery. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a squad identical to the one that just took on Bangladesh. The side also remains unchanged from the one that is set to take on Australia next week.



While Maroof's replacement has not yet been named, stand-in skipper for Bangladesh's series, Javeria Khan will probably continue as captain. Another candidate could be Sana Mir, from whom Maroof took over the reins.



The fact that the squad is the same as the one that just completed a successful Twenty-20 tour of Bangladesh and will play against Australia as well, benefits Pakistan greatly. The players will have had time to settle into the game after some time away from it. This will help their transition to the highly competitive environment of the World Twenty-20 easier.



For Pakistan, their strength will be their spin attack. Boasting some of the best spinners in the world, namely Sana Mir, Anam Amin, Nashra Sandhu and Nida Dar in their squad means that Pakistan pose a great threat with the ball. Especially considering how effective spin can be on the West Indian pitches. While their tweakers are more experienced campaigners, Pakistan's pace attack is relatively younger, consisting of Aiman Anwer, Natalia Perviaz and Diana Baig.



In the batting department, going on recent form, Pakistan have faltered. All four of their Twenty-20's against Bangladesh were low-scoring affairs and the only ODI was a nightmare for the batters, as Pakistan was bundled out 94. Javeria Khan has been a consistent performer with the bat, mostly supported by opener Nahida Khan, while her opening partner Ayesha Zafar's form has suffered. The batters will need to step up their game if Pakistan wants to put in an impressive performance in their tournament. The only uncapped player in the squad is batter Omaima Sohail.



What might be Pakistan's biggest weakness is the lack of a true power-hitter who can score runs rapidly towards the end of the innings. With the women's game became increasingly aggressive, having a hard-hitter in the squad similar to Chloe Tryon or Danni Wyatt has become imperative. Pakistan's lack of one may heavily impact their campaign.



Full Fixture here



SQUAD: Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sana Mir, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz