LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan women cricketers Gul Feroza and Shawaal Zulfiqar have said cricket has become faster and they are adapting accordingly, stressing that aggressive batting by the top order is essential and that the team has been encouraged to play fearless cricket.
The Pakistan women’s cricket team’s training camp for preparations for the Women’s Asia Cup is underway in Lahore. Speaking during the camp, Gul Feroza and Shawaal Zulfiqar said they were playing more scenario-based matches, including games against male players.
They said scenario matches were more beneficial because players could not get a complete sense of field conditions while batting in the nets, whereas matches provided an understanding of every aspect of the game. They added that this was why they were focusing on playing more matches during the training camp.
Gul Feroza said her individual performance was improving, but the team needed to bring consistency to its overall performance. She said the team had failed to perform according to expectations at the T20 World Cup, which was disappointing.
She added that important events were now approaching, including the Women’s Asia Cup and the Asian Games, and the team’s target was to perform as well as possible in both competitions.
Meanwhile, Shawaal Zulfiqar said making a comeback after an injury was not easy. She said she had been out of the team due to back-to-back injuries, but had worked very hard to perform well after returning.
Shawaal said the period of injury was difficult and required players to remain mentally strong.
She added that playing alongside male players was proving very beneficial as it was giving the team experience of playing stronger and more competitive cricket.
Shawaal Zulfiqar also said the team’s confidence was increasing under captain Fatima Sana. She said Fatima had recently played in The Hundred and was sharing her experience with the team, which was motivating other players as well.