LAHORE: Pakistan women’s national team has commenced its preparations for the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 taking place in Dubai. The team departed for Dubai earlier this week to participate in the championship, which will run from August 28 until September 13, 2026. For Pakistan women's team, the tournament serves as an important assignment where they would attempt to showcase themselves against other Asian sides.
Pakistan Women's Team's Preparations Before Departure
The Pakistan women’s cricket team, led by captain Fatima Sana, participated in cricket games against the boys’ team in a training camp prior to leaving for Dubai. It should be noted here that the format of exposing the team to such matches before big tournaments is quite common for preparation purposes.
The fixtures of the Pakistan women's team for the Asia Cup 2026 have been made public, showing that their first game will be on September 1, playing against Thailand.
Based on some news reports, the next fixture for the Pakistani women’s side will be a significant encounter against India on September 5, which may prove highly crucial for both teams because of their age-old rivalry in the sport of cricket. Their last group-stage game for the Pakistan women’s team will come on September 7 against Hong Kong.
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Pakistan suffered a major blow earlier this week leading into the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup after Najiha Alvi was ruled out due to injury. The wicketkeeper batter will miss out on the tournament, leaving Sadaf Shamas as her replacement, who will fill her place as a right-handed batter for the team.
As per reports available from the PCB, Najiha reported pain in her left posterior knee on Monday. Upon getting scanned later, she was suspected to be suffering from a sprain in her left posterior knee area. The medical department of the PCB conducted an overall analysis on her and determined that her recovery period will last four weeks, far exceeding the ongoing tournament duration.
Following the official start of the Pakistani women’s Asia Cup 2026 campaign, the side will be expected to gain momentum in its group stage encounters against Thailand, India, and Hong Kong teams before moving onto the knock-out phase. Notably, the omission of Najiha Alvi leaves room for adjustment, but with Sadaf Shamas being named as her replacement for the early rounds of the tournament, the Pakistanis have found themselves an almost seamless substitute.