Multan, (Asian independent) Twenty-six Pakistani women cricketers began a three-week training stint in the extreme heat here on Saturday as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) couldn’t find a more suitable venue with bio-bubble. The team is preparing for the 50-over World Cup qualifiers in Sri Lanka this December.
Normally, the camps are organised in Abbottabad, located in the hilly Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where the weather is pleasant during the summer months. But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had limited options this time around to prepare a bio-secure bubble other than in Multan.
“Multan was the only feasible facility available as a package. It has the ground, gym, and accommodation within one block, and it’s easy to maintain the bio-secure bubble there,” Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the PCB’s women’s selection committee, told cricinfo.com
“We are conscious and mindful of the extreme weather conditions (in Multan), and that is why we have scheduled the training sessions to avoid the hottest part of the day. We are starting early in the morning and ending by midday, giving them ample rest in the day, and we’ll start again in the evening,” she said.
Following the conclusion of the camp, the Pakistan women’s team could return to action after five months with a series in Sri Lanka in July.
The team’s last international outing was against Zimbabwe in February, where they won the opening one-dayer before the remaining series was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before that, Pakistan had toured South Africa, where they lost the ODI series 3-0, and won the third and final T20I to deny the hosts another series sweep.
