Pakistan PM meets Sana Mir after ICC Hall of Fame induction, hopes she will nurture new talent

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif awards a souvenir to former Pakistan Women Cricket Team captain Sana Mir (left) in Islamabad on June 27, 2025. (PID)
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Updated 28 June 2025
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Pakistan PM meets Sana Mir after ICC Hall of Fame induction, hopes she will nurture new talent

  • A trailblazer for women’s cricket in Pakistan, Mir represented the national team from 2005 to 2019
  • She holds the record for the most wickets by a Pakistani woman in one-day internationals with 151

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met with former Pakistan Women Cricket Team captain Sana Mir and congratulated her on her induction into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame, Sharif’s office said.

Mir this month became the first woman cricketer from Pakistan to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. She was honored alongside India’s MS Dhoni, England’s Sarah Taylor, South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith, Australia’s Matthew Hayden, and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori.

PM Sharif appreciated Mir saying that the Pakistan women cricket team achieved significant successes and made Pakistan famous all over the world under her leadership.

“The government is trying to promote talent on the basis of merit in every field of sports. Giving equal opportunities and facilities to men and women in every field of sports, including cricket, is among our priorities,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.

“Hopefully, you will play an active role in providing training to new talent in cricket with your experience.”

Mir thanked the prime minister and said she was trying her level best to represent Pakistan fully in the World Cricket Association and the ICC.

She gave suggestions for further promotion of cricket, especially women’s cricket, in Pakistan.

A trailblazer for women’s cricket in Pakistan, Mir represented the national team from 2005 to 2019. She is the eighth Pakistani overall and just the 15th woman globally to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

She holds the record for the most wickets by a Pakistani woman in one-day internationals with 151 and was the first Asian woman to feature in 100 T20 internationals. In 2018, she became the first Pakistani woman to top the ICC ODI bowling rankings.


India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster as boycott averted

Updated 14 February 2026
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India and Pakistan set for World Cup blockbuster as boycott averted

  • With bilateral cricket a casualty of their relations, emotions run high whenever the neighbors meet in multi-team events
  • For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize ​opinion

India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo ​on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat — later reversed — nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.

With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbors lock horns in multi-team events at neutral venues.

India’s strained relations with another neighbor, Bangladesh, have further tangled the geopolitics around the World Cup.

When Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over safety ‌concerns, the regional ‌chessboard shifted.

Pakistan decided to boycott the Group A ​contest ‌against ⁠India in ​solidarity ⁠with Bangladesh, jeopardizing a lucrative fixture that sits at the intersection of sport, commerce, and geopolitics.

Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars in evaporating advertising revenue, the broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held hectic behind-the-scenes parleys and eventually brokered a compromise to salvage the tournament’s most sought-after contest.

Strictly on cricketing merit, however, the rivalry has been one-sided.

Defending champions India have a 7-1 record against Pakistan in the ⁠tournament’s history and they underlined that dominance at last year’s ‌Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

India beat ‌Pakistan three times in that single event, including a ​stormy final marred by provocative gestures ‌and snubbed handshakes.

Former India captain Rohit Sharma does not believe in the “favorites” tag, ‌especially when the arch-rivals clash.

“It’s such a funny game,” Rohit, who led India to the title in the T20 World Cup two years ago, recently said.

“You can’t just go and think that it’s a two-point victory for us. You just have to play good cricket ‌on that particular day to achieve those points.”

INDIA’S EDGE

Both teams have opened their World Cup campaigns with back-to-back wins, yet ⁠India still appear ⁠to hold a clear edge.

Opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the batting and bowling rankings respectively.

Abhishek is doubtful for the Pakistan match though as he continues to recover from a stomach infection that kept him out of their first two matches.

Ishan Kishan has reinvented himself as a top-order linchpin, skipper Suryakumar Yadav has regained form, while Rinku Singh has settled into the finisher’s role in India’s explosive lineup.

Mystery spinner Chakravarthy and the ever-crafty Jasprit Bumrah anchor the spin and pace units, while Hardik Pandya’s all-round spark is pivotal.

For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam’s strike rate continues to polarize ​opinion.

Captain Salman Agha will bank on ​spin-bowling all-rounder Saim Ayub, but the potential trump card is off-spinner Usman Tariq, whose slinging, side-arm action has intrigued opponents and fans alike.