'That's very unfortunate' - Bismah Maroof rues lack of opportunities for Pakistan women cricketers in T20 leagues

image-le2wr7fkMahroof played an impressive knock against IND

Pakistan Women's Cricket Team skipper Bismah Mahroof has expressed her disappointment at the lack of opportunities for the young Pakistani cricketers in franchise T20 Leagues.

Bismah made this statement after a heart-wrenching defeat to India Women in the ongoing ICC Women's T20 World Cup, where the likes of Ayesha Naseem gave a great account of her talent.

Naseem smashed a belligerent 23-ball 45 with the help of 2 fours and as many sixes to propel the Pakistanis to a competitive 4-149 in 20 overs-; a target which India eventually gunned down with the help of Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues.

With the who's who of Women's cricket bagging never seen before the amount in the inaugural WPL auction, Bismah rued the lack of opportunities for her players in the marquee league.


Here's what Mahroof said:

"We as Pakistan, you know don't get many opportunities to play in the leagues that are very unfortunate. Of course, we are not liking that and definitely we will love to play every opportunity we get in the leagues but yeah that's what it is and we can't control that," the Pakistan skipper said in the post-match presser.

For the uninitiated, no Pakistani cricketers- male or female- are allowed to participate in the BCCI-owned franchise T20 tournaments.

Pakistani players were a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the inaugural season in 2008 but were barred from participating from thereon following the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Women would be looking to shrug off the disappointment of losing to India in their tournament opener and start afresh when they take on the Ireland Women in Cape Town on February 15th.