LAHORE: In a significant development for women’s cricket in the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced to give 11-month domestic contracts to 74 talented players, the first of its kind in the game.

Among the players who have been given the contracts, 59 belong to emerging and U-19 categories, while 14 players have already represented Pakistan at the senior level.

This move is set to provide a substantial boost to the confidence of women cricketers, as an action-packed women’s cricket season is all set to resume from Sept 1.

These domestic contracts have been conferred upon the players who have displayed remarkable performances across various platforms, including domestic cricket tournaments, emerging tournaments, U-19 domestic event, and the ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup. The players for the contracts have been selected by the national women’s selection committee led by former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar, with recommendations from national and academy coaches.

The decision to offer these contracts underscores the commitment of the PCB led by the Interim Management Committee chairman Zaka Ashraf to foster the growth of women’s cricket, provide a viable career path, and motivate more women to participate and excel in the sport.

In addition to the domestic contracts, the PCB has also resumed facilities for women cricketers to train at eight academies across the country, seven of which are operational currently. The operational academies include the National Cricket Academy (Lahore), Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre (Karachi), Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre (Multan), Qayyum Stadium (Peshawar), Abbottabad Cricket Stadium (Abbottabad), Bugti Stadium (Quetta) and Women’s Sports Stadium (Bahawalpur).

The cricketers who been offered domestic contracts will not be a part of the women’s central contracts 2023-24, to be announced in due course. The domestic contract players, in addition to monthly retainers, will also receive match fee, daily allowance and a share in prize money.

The players who have received domestic contracts:

Aima Saleem (Rawalpindi), Aimen Anwar (Karachi), Aisha Javed (Lahore), Aleena Shah (Peshawar), Aliza Khan (Karachi), Amber Kainat (Lahore), Anam Amin (Lahore), Areesha Noor Bhatti (Lahore), Arijah Haseeb (Karachi), Asma Amin (Faisalabad), Asma Shareef (Arifwala), Ayesha Asim (Quetta), Ayesha Bilal (Lahore), Ayesha Zafar (Lahore), Dina Razvi (Karachi), Dua Majid (Lahore), Fajr Naveed (Rawalpindi), Fareeha Mehmood (Lahore), Fatima Khan (Lahore), Fatima Shahid (Lahore), Fatima Zehra (Rawalpindi), Gul-e-Uswa (Multan), Gull Feroza (Multan), Gull Rukh (Dera Ghazi Khan), Haleema Azeem Dar (Lahore), Haniah Ahmer (Karachi), Humna Bilal (Rawalpindi), Huraina Sajjad (Karachi), Iram Javed (Lahore), Jannat Rasheed (Quetta), Javeria Khan (Karachi), Jaweria Rauf (Karachi), Kainat Imtiaz (Karachi), Kaynat Hafeez (Lahore), Khadija Chishti (Lahore), Kinza Wahab (Karachi), Laiba Mansoor (Rawalpindi), Laiba Nasir (Lahore), Lubna Behram (Hunza), Maham Anees (Islamabad), Maham Manzoor (Hyderabad), Maham Tariq (Karachi), Mahnoor Aftab (Peshawar), Masooma Zehra (Karachi), Momina Riasat (Abbottabad), Natalia Parvaiz (Bhimber), Neha Sharmeen Sheikh (Karachi), Noor-ul-Eman (Bahawalpur), Noreen Yaqoob (Lahore), Quratulain Ahsen (Lahore), Rameen Shamim (Karachi), Rida Aslam (Lahore), Saba Nazir (Muridke), Saima Malik (Quetta), Saiqa Riaz (Lahore), Saira Jabeen (Chitral), Sana Talib (Rahim Yar Khan), Sania Rasheed (Rawalpindi), Shabnam Hayat (Karachi), Soha Fatima (Lahore), Subhana Tariq (Karachi), Syeda Taskyn Fatima (Karachi), Tasmia Rubab (Lahore), Tayyaba Imdad (Abbottabad), Tahzeeb Shah (Swabi), Waheeda Akhter (Lahore), Wajeeha Muneer (Multan), Warda Yousuf (Okara), Wasifa Hussain (Karachi), Yusra Amir (Karachi), Zaib-un-Nisa (Charsadda), Zamina Tahir (Lahore), Zunaira Shah (Karachi), Zunash Abdul Sattar (Lahore).

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2023