Bismah Maroof steps down as Pakistan Women's team captain

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New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Pakistan women's cricket team captain Bismah Maroof on Wednesday stepped down from her position citing that she wants to make way for younger colleagues.

"There has been no bigger honour for me than leading the team. Now, I feel that it is the right time for a transition and chance to groom a young captain. I will always be there to assist, guide and support the team and the young captain in every way," Bismah tweeted.

Her decision to step down as skipper comes right after the conclusion of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, in South Africa, where Pakistan Women had a disappointing outing, losing three of their four group stage matches.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi on Wednesday accepted Bismah's resignation.

"I have accepted the resignation of @maroof_bismah Captain of Pakistan Women's National Team. She wants to make way for a younger colleague. But happily, she will continue to play for Pakistan and bring laurels for her country," Sethi tweeted.

Earlier, questions were raised about leadership progression after Pakistan's dismal World Cup show in 2022 ODI World in New Zealand, where they won only one of their seven round-robin games to make a league-stage exit. However, PCB showed faith in Maroof and retained her as captain for the 2022-23 season.

Bismah represents Pakistan in an all-rounder capacity, and has captained her side in 62 T20Is and 34 ODIs. She took up the captaincy role after Sana Mir relinquished the position across formats following the team's exit from 2016 T20 and 2017 ODI World Cups.

In her 17-year-long career so far, Bismah scored 3110 runs in 124 ODIs and has 2658 runs in 132 T20Is to her.

--IANS

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