Pakistan suffer injury blow ahead of ACC Women's Asia Cup

Pakistan suffered a major blow ahead of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup as wicketkeeper-batter Najiha Alvi has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury, with right-handed batter Sadaf Shamas named in the squad as her replacement.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Monday that Najiha reported pain in her posterior left knee, while later the scans revealed a possible sprain in it.

Following an assessment by the PCB’s medical team, Najiha is set to begin her rehabilitation programme immediately, which is expected to last up to four weeks.

The national women’s selection committee added Sadaf to the Asia Cup squad. She has played 12 WT20Is so far after making her debut in January 2023.

The eight-team Women’s Asia Cup is set to be played from 28 August to 13 September at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with all 15 matches beginning at 7.30pm PKT.

Pakistan are placed in Group A alongside Hong Kong, India and Thailand. Group B consists of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan will face Thailand on 1 September, India on 5 September, and Hong Kong on 7 September, while the semi-finals will take place on 10 and 11 September. The final is scheduled for Sunday, 13 September.