Pakistan’s star all-rounder Bismah Maroof has announced that she will relinquish the captaincy of the Pakistan women’s national cricket team. Their decision comes after the Women in Green failed to make it to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa. Out of their four league stage matches, the Maroof-led side managed to win just one by 70 against Ireland at Newlands in Cape Town, but lost the other three against India, West Indies and England.
“There has been no greater honor for me than leading the 🇵🇰 team. Now, I feel it is the right time for a change and an opportunity to groom a young captain. I look forward to helping, guiding and supporting the team. Will always be there for you.” And the young captain by all means. Long live Pakistan,” the 31-year-old tweeted.
There is no greater honor for me than leading a 🇵🇰 team. Now, I feel it is the right time for a change and a chance to groom a young captain. I will always be there to help, guide and support the team and the young captain in every way. Long live Pakistan!
— Bismah Maroof (@maroof_bismah) March 1, 2023
The left-handed batsman has led Pakistan in 64 T20 matches, out of which his team has finished on top in 27 matches. Apart from this, she was the captain of the team in 34 ODIs and led the team to victory in 16 of them. However, before the team’s dismal performance in the T20 World Cup 2023, Maroof & Co. produced similar results in the previous edition of the tournament in 2020, where again Pakistan managed just one win.
When the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) opted for a split leadership, Maroof was given the reins of leadership for the first time. While Sana Mir remained the ODI captain in 2016, Maroof was made the T20I captain. A year later, Maroof was given the captaincy of both the white-ball formats.
In April 2021, Maroof went on maternity leave and was away from the sport for over a year. Javeria Khan was leading the team during this period, but when she returned in May last year, she was again at the helm.
