Nida Dar Named Captain Of Pakistan Women's Team, Mark Coles Reappointed Head Coach

Veteran all-rounder Nida Dar has been appointed as the captain of Pakistan womens cricket team, while Mark Coles has been reappointed as the head coach, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday.

PCB also said former men's Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar has been named as the chair of the Women's Selection Committee. All three major appointments have been approved by Najam Sethi, the Chair of the PCB Management Committee.

The board further said the appointments were kept keeping in mind the future international commitments of the side, including hosting South Africa and West Indies and touring Bangladesh, England and New Zealand.

In an 11-month period from August 2023 to July 2024, Pakistan women's team is scheduled to play five bilateral cricket series comprising a total of 15 ICC Women's Championship 2022-25 ODIs.

Pakistan will also play 17 T20Is too. These ODIs and T20Is will lead to the 10-team ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and eight-team ICC Women's ODI World Cup in India, which will be held in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Nida, the off-spin all-rounder, has represented Pakistan in 130 T20Is and 99 ODIs. She is also the leading wicket-taker in T20I women's cricket with 126 wickets to her name. Nida takes over the captaincy from Bismah Maroof, who stepped down from captaincy following the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.

"I am honored to have been appointed as the captain of the Pakistan women's cricket team. It is a huge responsibility, and I am excited to lead the team in the upcoming events. I want to thank the PCB for entrusting me with this responsibility and will do my best to take the team forward. I also want to thank Bismah Maroof for her services as the captain of the team. She has done a fantastic job, and I hope to continue her legacy and lead the team with the same passion and commitment," Nida said in her statement.

"The upcoming season of women's cricket is going to be a tough one. But we are fortunate to have some young exciting talent in our pool of players, which I am confident will significantly improve during the course and also help the side to produce strong performances.

As a captain, my objective remains to inspire and mentor these young players to become quality cricketers. I will be extremely satisfied and content if we first break and then cement our place in the upper half of the ICC Women's Championship before slowly working our way into the top-three," she added.

On the other hand, Coles previously served as Pakistan's head coach from 2017 to 2019 and during his time, the side achieved major results, including a fifth finish in the ICC Women's Championship 2017-2020 that paved the way for the side to feature in the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2022.

He will be joined by Mohtashim Rasheed (fielding coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach) and Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach) in the coaching staff.

"I am grateful to the PCB for giving me yet another opportunity to work with the talented Pakistan women's team.It has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of players and I look forward to the exciting times ahead as we aim to improve our previous performances and achievements," said Coles.

"We have a lot of potential in the team, and I look forward to helping the players to give their best and achieve success on the international stage," he said.

Jaffar will also head the selection panel, which also includes Rasheed as well as former women's team cricketers Asmavia Iqbal (previous chief selector) and Marina Iqbal.

Jaffar's last stint with the women's team was as their interim head coach at the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa. As an international men's cricketer, Saleem took 36 wickets in 14 Tests and 40 wickets in 39 ODIs from 1986 to 1992.

"These are exciting times to work in women's cricket as not only a lot of competitive cricket is lined-up, but we have in our pool some young but extremely talented and skilled cricketers, who have all the ingredients to become top-ranked international players" he said.

"It is our collective responsibility to help them achieve their career objectives and targets, and as chair of the selection committee and bowling coach, I look forward to this challenge," he added.

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