Pakistan to begin Women’s T20 Asia Cup campaign on September 1

Pakistan women’s cricket team, led by Fatima Sana, will begin their ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 campaign against Thailand on September 1 in Dubai. The eight-team tournament will get underway on Friday, with Thailand facing Hong Kong, China in the opening match. All 15 matches will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with fixtures scheduled to begin at 7. 30pm Pakistan time. Pakistan are placed in Group A alongside India, Thailand and Hong Kong, China. After their opening fixture, they will face arch-rivals India on September 5 before taking on Hong Kong, China on September 7. Defending champions Sri Lanka are in Group B with Bangladesh, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. The semi-finals are scheduled for September 10 and 11, with the final to be played on September 13. Pakistan’s squad arrived in the UAE on August 26 after completing a 10-day training camp at the National Cricket Academy. Top-order batter Sadaf Shamas has replaced wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi, who was ruled out after suffering a left-knee injury. Speaking before the team’s departure, captain Fatima Sana said the squad had prepared for pressure situations by playing matches against boys during the training camp. “We created such scenarios that helped our players deal with pressure situations, ” she said. “I’ll try to take the challenge of this tournament day-by-day, and no one game is more important in the event. We want to win every single game and produce positive results. ” Pakistan have previously reached the Women’s Asia Cup final in 2012 and 2016. Their campaigns in the 2022 and 2024 editions ended in the semi-finals. The 2026 edition will be the 10th staging of the Women’s Asia Cup and the sixth to be played in the T20 format. The first four editions, held in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008, were contested in the ODI format. Pakistan squad Fatima Sana (captain), Ayesha Zafar, Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Momina Riasat, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wicketkeeper), Nashra Sundhu, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar.

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