Like so many other girls, Bismah Maroof, too, encountered roadblocks in fulfilling her cricketing ambitions while growing up in a conservative society such as Pakistan. When she took up cricket as a 16-year-old, there were no separate grounds for girls but taunts aplenty, as religious extremists frowned upon women playing in open fields.

Some sportswomen even received death threats from zealots. Some like Bismah Amjad and Nida Dar even cut their hair short in order to disguise themselves as boys to play with them. Families also dissuaded girls from taking up sports in fear that it would have an impact on their marriage prospects.

Luckily for the Lahore-born Maroof, however, there was support from her father, who watched most of her matches. Besides, there were also other examples to follow for Maroof.

Women’s cricket in Pakistan is full of such stories but, with more and more girls coming up to play, the progress is significant. The latest round of three women’s T20 matches during the Pakistan Super League Season 8 is vindictive of this progress and a harbinger for a separate women’s league in the country — so necessary for the Pakistan women’s cricket team’s international standing.

Women’s cricket in Pakistan has had a long, difficult journey, but not more than that of the women cricketers who have turned out to play for the country. But the gains over the years have also been remarkable

The story of Pakistan women’s cricket started with two Karachi girls from affluent and open-minded families, who became examples for others to follow. Shaiza and her sister, the late Sharmeen Khan, fought on all fronts while setting up women’s cricket in Pakistan in the early 1990s, including taking the brave step of negotiating with religious parties. They even confronted another group, backed by some political parties, during the 1997 Women’s World Cup, when two Pakistan teams landed up in India!

Maroof’s former teammate Sana Mir also became a role model for women cricketers in Pakistan. Sana rose to the number one ranking in ODI bowling and led Pakistan with distinction. There were others, such as Saba Nazir from Muridke and Nahida Khan from Balochistan, who also made their mark on the field, despite hailing from remote and backward parts of the country. Maroof also traversed this thorny path with dignity and determination, in a journey that saw her marry a cricket-lover, allowing her to even continue playing after giving birth to a baby girl.

“Playing any sport in this region is extremely difficult and then playing after getting married is even tougher,” Maroof says. “The most beautiful part of this journey is to be a wife, mother and a cricketer at the same time. I feel proud when I hear that young girls get inspired by my journey and that they want to join sports, especially cricket.”

RECOGNITION AND RESPECT

Women’s cricket got a shot in the arm when the International Cricket Council (ICC), administering the men’s game since 1909, took it under its umbrella in 2005. That same year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) established its Women’s Wing and created practice and playing facilities in major cities.

“Even though on-field results haven’t been favourable, Pakistan cricket has in some ways moved in a positive direction in the last few years,” the author of Unveiling Jazbaa: A History of Pakistan Women’s Cricket, Aayush Puthran tells Eos from Mumbai.

“The most significant movement was in the parental policy that was brought in. It was not only a progressive move, but also a game-changer in a country where players had previously stepped away from the game after marriage, let alone motherhood.”

New players such as Diana Baig from Gilgit, Fatima Sana from Karachi and Ayesha Naseem from Abbottabad emerged. Fatima was declared the ICC’s emerging women’s cricketer last year.

Maroof is happy that women’s cricket has received its due attention.

“There were times when no one or very few people would know that the Pakistan women’s cricket team even existed,” says Maroof. “With more matches and live coverage, we have earned recognition and respect.

“I hope it’ll keep getting better and we’ll be getting as many facilities and [as much] recognition as the other top teams of the world do. Especially, getting more competitive games, participation in the different leagues as well as an organised domestic structure for our female cricketers is the need of the hour,” adds Maroof, who stepped down as skipper after the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last month.

Pakistan once again proved to be ‘also-rans’ at the tournament, winning only one game — against Ireland — after missing a golden opportunity to beat a formidable India in their first game.

Pakistan came close to beating their archrivals in their opening game, defending a challenging 163 target. Pakistan had their formidable opponents on the backfoot, with 41 needed off the last four overs, but a slew of misfielding and questionable captaincy — not keeping a sweeper at the offside boundary — cost Pakistan the match. It could have been a coup de main for India and a blow for the superpowers of cricket, who had started a women’s league (Women’s Premier League) with millions of dollars and glitz, but without Pakistani players.

Nevertheless, there are some exceptional young, individual talents coming through for Pakistan. The performances of Fatima Sana and Tuba Hassan, along with the promise of Ayesha Naseem, bode extremely well for the future. Ayesha became a threat for opposing teams, hitting three of the five sixes that the Pakistan team registered in the T20 World Cup.

PCB’s GOAL FOR WOMEN’S CRICKET

Since taking women’s cricket under its wings in 2005, the PCB has made admirable efforts to lift it by leaps and bounds. The task was an onerous one, as nations such as Australia, England, India and New Zealand were quite a few rungs above. A separate Women’s Wing was established with aims to develop the game at the domestic level, both at the grassroots level and higher. The facilities for women’s cricket were also uplifted, with separate nets for them.

From the Ehsan Mani-led PCB to Ramiz Raja and now to the management committee of Najam Sethi, the administrative body has aspired for a big lift in women’s cricket. A number of efforts are in the pipeline, which include a Twenty20 league for women. The first step was taken with a three-match series between two teams of local and 10 international stars from seven countries during the men’s PSL last month.

England’s Danni Wyatt, Maia Bouchier, Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield-Hill, and Australia’s Tess Flintoff, Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, Jahanara Alam of Bangladesh, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Lea Tahuhu of New Zealand were the star attractions for the series. They all were impressed with the PCB facilities and promised to return in case Pakistan hosts a women’s league, proposed for September this year.

PCB spends a handsome budget for the promotion and development of the game at the local and international level. There are separate facilities for women’s training and matches in Multan, Peshawar and Quetta have helped in unearthing new talent as well. The PCB is in the process of establishing five academies for women, to nurture local talent in Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Abbottabad and Rawalpindi-Islamabad. A talent hunt programme is also in the pipeline to increase the pool of women players.

Ahead of the T20 World Cup, the Pakistan women’s team also toured Australia and, although they were no match for the superpowers of women’s cricket — losing all matches they played — they did get immense experience from the visit.

The biggest task for the PCB now is to unearth more talent. That could be done through a talent hunt programme and a foreign coach to groom the talent.

The writer is a senior cricket analyst.
He tweets @hashmi_shahid

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 2nd, 2023