Pakistan's young captain Fatima Sana has a big task to undertake

Fatima Sana is just 24 years old and is gearing up to lead her side in her third consecutive ICC tournament. One could argue that Pakistan have not had plenty of success in any of those, winning one game in the 2024 T20 World Cup and none in the ODI World Cup last year. 

Fatima in a messed-up Pakistan side

But Fatima herself was nothing short of impressive in both those tournaments as well as the matches that filled the window between them.

Since the previous T20 World Cup, the bowling all-rounder has played 13 games and has batted with an average of 55 while striking at 183. The way she has performed has hardly been affected by her team's performance. 

Her fellow player and Pakistan's World Cup-bound squad's most capped player, Aliya Riaz, said that the Pakistan captain is still learning and, with enough experience, she can fill the gaps across the many roles she is currently undertaking.

"Fatima is a player with a huge amount of potential, and she has a lot of ability to play all-round cricket. She is a dynamic leader and a very important member of our team," Aliya Riaz said. "I hope she plays well in this tournament, in all departments. She's improving day by day as a captain. She is very young and learning every day."

Fatima is a work in progress

Pakistan are drawn into the same group as South Africa, Australia, India, Netherlands, and Bangladesh. They will kick off the World Cup with a high-intensity game against India, and their task hardly gets easier with the coming games. 

It would undoubtedly be challenging for Fatima as a captain, but Riaz claims the young captain is always looking for ways to improve the game for her side.

"As a young captain, whenever she's come to me, we always talk about improving our game and improving our cricket. We discuss this a lot with each other," Riaz said.

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