ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday named Pakistan’s former iconic cricketer Sana Mir as its ambassador for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament. 

Former skipper Mir, considered widely as Pakistan’s best woman cricketer to date, will keep a keen eye on the tournament which would see 10 women’s teams battle it out for two spots at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. 

The first four matches of the tournament will take place tomorrow, Thursday, which is scheduled to go on till May 7. 

The 10 teams have been divided into two groups of five, with the top two from each group entering the semifinals. The winning semifinalists confirm a trip to Bangladesh for the T20 World Cup later this year.

“ICC named Sana Mir, who represented Pakistan in 226 international games, 137 of them as skipper, as the ambassador of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier on Wednesday, 24 April,” the cricket regulatory body said in a post on its website. 

Mir told ICC the tournament would provide an excellent opportunity for fans to witness exciting cricket. 

“The women’s game has become more and more competitive in recent years,” Mir said. “And the 10 nations involved in the Qualifier possess a number of quality players.”

Mir featured in several ICC tournaments during her impressive career. Her most memorable one was in the 2008 ICC Women’s Qualifying Series for the Women’s Cricket World Cup where Pakistan went all the way to the finals. 

Sana won the joint Player of the Series award for the tournament. The Pakistani icon said she aims to share her expertise and experience with the international players as ambassador. 

“My aim is to talk to the various teams and players during the Qualifier and help guide them on how to deal with the pressure of these events and what it takes to succeed,” Mir explained. 

“Pakistan had a great record in these events, and I in particular have fond memories of the 2008 edition of the 50 over World Cup qualifier event that I played.”

Mir said that while Sri Lanka and Ireland were favorites to qualify for the World Cup, others had a chance to cause major upsets too. 

“Teams like Scotland, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, and Zimbabwe surely have the potential to cause major upsets,” she said. “And make their way through to the semis and eventually to the final as well.”