‘We definitely need to play more fearlessly’ – Maroof
The vastly experienced 27-year-old will, however, not take back the captaincy – Javeria Khan will continue to lead the side at the marquee event.
Speaking to Women’s CricZone, Maroof explained*, “*I wasn’t in the state to captain. For me, right now it is important to put my health first. I needed to settle myself in and I didn’t think I could take the responsibility of the team because of my health.
“I thought it would be best for Javeria to continue as captain, while I focus on my health after my major sinus surgery.”
She is fit enough to slot back in the squad, though, and will hope to add to her 88 Twenty20 International appearances and 1641 runs in the format, scored at an average of 25.24 and strike rate of 88.94.
Maroof played the second and third T20Is against Australia in Kuala Lumpur recently, scoring 0 and 34 respectively, as top-ranked Australia swept the series 3-0. “We learnt a lot from the series and we definitely need to play more fearlessly,” said Maroof of the experience.
Bismah Maroof Innings for Pakistan V Bangladesh Video ICC Womens WT20 2016
Watch Bismah Maroof's innings run for Pakistan against Bangladesh in this Match 15 video of the ICC Womens World Twenty20 India 2016.
Placed seventh in the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s T20I Team Rankings, Pakistan are grouped with Australia, India, Ireland and New Zealand, and are likely to have it tough. But the emergence of some youngsters, like Umaima Sohail, the 21-year-old batter who held her own against Australia, is giving Maroof hope.
“Omaima Sohail was a big positive for us. The way she played in the matches with a fearless approach. It’s a big positive for us, and her, too. She will take a lot of confidence from it,” said Maroof.
“As for bowling, Aliya (Riaz) bowled well throughout the series. It’s good that the youngsters are taking responsibility. It’s just, we’ve done well in phases. We’ve built partnerships and done well on the field in phases. It’s important we do so for a longer run so that the end result will be in our favour.”
Despite the low rank, Maroof is moderately confident about Pakistan’s chances at the tournament, to be played in the Caribbean from 9 November.
“I think we have the best 15-member squad from Pakistan right now. There’s a lot of belief in the squad and we just need to work on our execution and fix our mistakes,” she said.
“It’s important we treat each match equally and not focus too much on any particular match. Otherwise, it just puts a lot of pressure on you. We will try to take it one game at a time and bring the same energy to each match.”
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One of the plusses for Pakistan might be that the games will be played on pitches that are expected to be on the slow side, bring their pack of spinners – Sana Mir, Anam Amin, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar and others – into play.
“We have a good spin attack. We have also had a good win percentage on spinning pitches so, we’re looking forward to our spinners doing well,” Maroof said.
“It’s important that as a team, our batters support our bowlers. We will try to put in a combined effort with the bat and ball so that we are a more competitive team.”