Sana Mir left out of Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad

LAHORE (ICC) – Sana Mir, Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker in WT20Is, has been left out of their 15-member squad for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020. Mir, 34, had featured in every edition of the T20 World Cup, including the previous one in 2018. She is also their third-highest ranked player in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings for bowling. However, the off-spinner has not been in the best of forms of late, picking up just one wicket in her last four T20I appearances. She had taken a break in December 2019, missing the team's limited-overs series against England in Malaysia. Regular skipper Bismah Maroof will lead Pakistan at the 2020 event, alongside deputy Javeria Khan. Middle-order batter Muneeba Ali and all-rounder Aimen Anwar have been recalled to the squad, while 15-year-old Ayesha Naseem has received her maiden national call-up.

Bismah Maroof will lead Pakistan's 15-member squad for the 2020 edition of the @ICC Women's #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/LNpTCBCJCw

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) January 20, 2020

Muneeba, the left-hand batter, smashed 292 runs at an average 58.40 in the National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship in Pakistan. Nahida Khan, Ayesha Zafar and Rameen Shamim, all of whom were a part of the squad that lost the T20Is 3-0 to England in Malaysia, have been left out. "The team has been selected keeping in mind the current form and performances along with the conditions in Australia and, at the same moment, we have come up with the right balance of youth and experience which will complement each other in the mega event," said Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of Pakistan's national women's selection committee. "Though Sana Mir doesn’t feature in the 15-player line-up, I believe we still have the desired experience in the squad. Sana has been a phenomenal servant of Pakistan cricket while being an inspiration to many girls out there. Unfortunately, her recent performances in the T20 format were not on her side."

Pakistan squad for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup announced.#BackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/NfETHilJUA

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 20, 2020

Pakistan squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Javeria Khan, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Nida Dar, Aimen Anwar, Muneeba Ali, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Anam Amin, Iram Javed, Syeda Aroob Shah