Pakistan-Sri Lanka series kicks off ICC Women’s Championship
Pakistan’s home series against Sri Lanka will set in motion the third cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC), which has been expanded to 10 teams from eight as part of ICC’s commitment to accelerate the growth of the women’s game.
The 2022-25 championship, which sees Bangladesh and Ireland make their debuts, provides a direct qualification pathway to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 while providing teams the exposure of playing four home and four away series of three matches each.
The hosts of the World Cup and five top placed teams in the IWC will get direct entries while the remaining two teams will be identified through a global qualifier comprising six teams – the remaining four from the IWC and two others as per the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings.
The three-match series in Karachi follows a three-match T20I series won 3-0 by the home side, from which captain Bismah Maroof takes confidence as she aims for maximum points.
Bismah Maroof: “After a dominating performance in the T20Is against Sri Lanka, we are now focused on delivering our best in the ODI series which is a part of the ICC Women’s Championship. I am pleased that two more teams have been added to the new cycle of the championship.
“This step from the ICC will help promote the women’s game in Bangladesh and Ireland besides providing them direct qualification opportunities.
“Our aim, like the rest of the sides, would be to earn a direct spot in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. In the qualification format, each and every series matters, hence our goal would be to start on a positive note by securing a series win against Sri Lanka while accumulating maximum points.
“The ODI squad for the series is a good blend of experience and youth. We have a number of experienced batters in Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Alia Riaz and me.
“Bowling is our traditional strength. Anam Amin did a great job for us in the T20Is and besides her, we have a number of quality spin bowling options. We also have a very capable pace attack led by Fatima Sana and Diana Baig.”
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu too is hoping for a direct entry into the World Cup after missing out from the tournament altogether last time.
Chamari Athapaththu: “Women’s cricket is at a crucial juncture, and we need to build on the current momentum by playing positive and entertaining cricket.
“The IWC has had a huge role in elevating the women’s game and I am sure all teams are eager to give their best in each match since direct slots at the 2025 World Cup are at stake.
“Missing out on the World Cup this year still rankles in our minds and our aim is to try and ensure a slot this time around.
“The Sri Lankan team will carry its experiences from previous ODIs as well as the preceding T20I series against Pakistan as we look to put our best foot forward.”
Pakistan have won both their previous IWC series against Sri Lanka by 3-0 margins even though their overall ODI win-loss record is 21-9 in Sri Lanka’s favour
Pakistan had hosted Sri Lanka in the first (2014-17) cycle in Sharjah in January 2015 while Sri Lanka hosted Pakistan in the second (2017-20) cycle in Dambulla in March 2018, the last time the teams played each other in ODIs.
Some impending ODI milestones that may be achieved during the upcoming championship:
- India captain Mithali Raj needs 195 runs to become the first woman to score 8,000 ODI runs
- Australia captain Meg Lanning needs 382 runs to become the leading run-scorer for Australia in Women’s ODIs
- India batter Harmanpreet Kaur needs 18 runs to become the second Indian to score 3,000 runs in Women’s ODI cricket
- Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry needs 20 wickets to become Australia’s leading wicket-taker in Women’s ODI cricket
- South Africa batter Laura Wolvaardt has nine months to score 85 runs in order to become the youngest woman to score 3,000 ODI runs
- Pakistan batter Javeria Khan needs 115 runs to become the first Pakistan woman to score 3000 ODI runs
- India are five matches away from reaching 300 ODIs in women’s ODI cricket
The complete matchups of the 2022-25 championship are available here.