Pakistan women’s team heads to Sri Lanka with confidence: coach

The Pakistan women’s cricket team will depart for Sri Lanka this evening to take part in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025, with head coach Mohammad Wasim and captain Fatima Sana expressing optimism about the side’s preparations and mindset for the mega event.

Speaking at a pre-departure press conference in Lahore, Wasim said the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa had been “very useful” for building momentum ahead of the World Cup. Although Pakistan lost the three-match series 2-1, he stressed that the focus was not solely on results.

“The matches allowed us to evaluate different aspects of our game. Winning was secondary; our main objective was to get the players ready for World Cup conditions, and we’ve achieved that to a large extent,” he noted.

Wasim added that the weather in Sri Lanka, the World Cup host, is similar to Lahore, which he said would help the players adapt quickly and deliver strong performances.

Captain Fatima Sana echoed the coach’s confidence, stressing that the team’s focus was on playing positive cricket rather than worrying about the strength of the opposition.

“It does not matter if the opposing side is strong or weak; our sole aim is to play with intent and emerge victorious,” she said.

Asked about the much-anticipated clash against India, she added: “Our opening game is against Bangladesh, and we will treat every World Cup fixture as just another game. We would like to remain calm and play with concentration.”

Pakistan will play two warm-up matches before the tournament, against Sri Lanka on September 25 and South Africa on September 28. The team’s group-stage campaign begins on October 2 against Bangladesh, followed by the high-profile encounter with India on October 5.

In the lead-up to the tournament, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met the squad at Gaddafi Stadium, urging the players to play with a fearless mindset. “Fight till the last ball. Success is always the result of teamwork,” he told the team while wishing them success.

Pakistan women’s squad for World Cup

Pakistan’s squad for the World Cup is led by Fatima Sana, with Muneeba Ali Siddiqui as vice-captain. Other members include Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper), and Syeda Aroob Shah.

Pakistan World Cup 2025 fixturesPakistan’s fixtures are as follows: Bangladesh (Oct 2), India (Oct 5), Australia (Oct 8), England (Oct 15), New Zealand (Oct 18), South Africa (Oct 21), and Sri Lanka (Oct 24).