Pakistan captain Nida Dar sustained a facial injury during the first women’s ODI against New Zealand and has been ruled out of the second game due to symptoms of concussion. Fatima Sana, the young fast bowler, will lead the team in her absence. Dar’s availability for the third game is uncertain at this time.
Sana will be making her captaincy debut in Christchurch on Friday. In June, she led Pakistan in the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup and also led the PCB Blasters to the title of the T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament in domestic cricket.
“We had a historic T20I series win against New Zealand, and I know the players are eager to perform well in the ODI series too. Although we didn’t have a good outing in the first ODI, we are all geared up to excel in tomorrow’s game,” Fatima said in a statement.
Pakistan has also seen injuries to Diana Baig and Shawaal Zulfiqar along with Dar. Baig, who was ruled out of the ODI series due to a finger injury, underwent surgery and will miss competitive cricket for four weeks.
Pakistan’s squad for the second ODI includes Fatima Sana (capt), Aliya Riaz, Bismah Maroof, Ghulam Fatima, Muneeba Ali, Najiha Alvi, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Umm-e-Hani, and Waheeda Akhtar.
