PCB Challengers are a Pakistani women's cricket team that compete in the Pakistan Women's One Day Cup and the PCB Women's Twenty20 Tournament. The team has no geographical base, instead being made up of some of the best players from across Pakistan. They are captained by Omaima Sohail and coached by Azam Khan. They won the first two editions of the PCB Women's Twenty20 Tournament, and the 2021–22 Women's One Day Cup.
History PCB Challengers were formed in 2018, ahead of the 2017–18 PCB Triangular One Day Women's Tournament. They were captained by Sidra Ameen. They finished second in the group, winning one of their four matches, progressing to the final. They lost the final to PCB Dynamites by 190 runs. The following season, 2018–19, Challengers, captained by Nida Dar, finished bottom of the group, again winning one of their four matches.
In 2019–20, PCB Challengers also competed in a new competition, the PCB Triangular Twenty20 Women's Tournament. They finished top of the group stage of the T20 tournament, and then went on to beat PCB Blasters in the final by 6 wickets to claim their first title. Challengers batter Muneeba Ali was the leading run-scorer in the competition. In the one-day competition, Challengers topped the group stage, with three wins from four matches, but lost to Blasters in the final.
In 2020–21, only the T20 tournament was played. PCB Challengers finished top of the group, winning two of their four matches, with two abandoned. They then beat PCB Dynamites in the final by 7 runs to claim their second T20 title in two years. In 2021–22 the side competed in the newly renamed Pakistan Women's One Day Cup, captained by Javeria Khan. Challengers won five of their six matches in the group stage to top the group, qualifying for the final where they beat PCB Blasters by 68 runs to claim their first one-day title. In 2022–23, they finished bottom of the group in the Women's Twenty20 Tournament, with one victory.
Players Current squad Based on squad for the 2022–23 season. Players in bold have international caps. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes Batters Ayesha Zafar Right-handed Right-arm leg break Khadija Chishty Left-handed Right-arm off break Nahida Khan Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast All-rounders Aliya Riaz Right-handed Right-arm off break Dua Majid Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Javeria Khan Right-handed Right-arm off break Noreen Yaqub Right-handed Right-arm off break Omaima Sohail Right-handed Right-arm off break Captain Wicket-keepers Najiha Alvi Right-handed – Bowlers Aiman Anwer Right-handed Right-arm medium Anoosha Nasir Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Ghulam Fatima Right-handed Right-arm off break Humna Bilal Right-handed Right-arm medium Lubna Behram Unknown Right-handed Right-arm medium Rameen Shamim Left-handed Right-arm off break Rida Aslam Right-handed Slow left-arm unorthodox
Seasons Pakistan Women's One Day Cup Season League standings Notes P W L T A/C Pts NRR Pos 2017–18 4 1 2 0 1 3 –0.593 2nd Lost final 2018–19 4 1 3 0 0 2 –0.310 3rd 2019–20 4 3 1 0 0 6 +0.634 1st Lost final 2021–22 6 5 1 0 0 10 +1.200 1st Champions
PCB Women's Twenty20 Tournament Season League standings Notes P W L T A/C Pts NRR Pos 2019–20 4 2 2 0 0 4 +0.600 1st Champions 2020–21 4 2 0 0 2 6 +0.288 1st Champions 2022–23 3 1 2 0 0 2 –0.467 4th
Honours Pakistan Women's One Day Cup: Winners (1): 2021–22 PCB Women's Twenty20 Tournament: Winners (2): 2019–20 & 2020–21
References