Pakistan name Nida Dar as women's cricket team captain, Mark Coles as coach

Karachi: Pakistan appointed allrounder Nida Dar as captain of the women’s national team on Thursday and brought back New Zealander Mark Coles as head coach ahead of a hectic year-long programme. Dar, 36, replaces Bismah Maroof, who stepped down after Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in February, where they lost three of their four matches. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also brought Coles back for his second stint as women’s head coach. “The appointments — Dar as captain and Coles as coach — have been made in light of the PCB’s vision and strategy to invest further into women’s cricket,” it said in a news release. The PCB hopes the appointments will lift the team as they host South Africa in September and October and then on tours to Bangladesh and New Zealand between October and December. Pakistan will also feature in the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and the eight-team ICC Women’s World Cup in India in 2025. Dar was a member of the Pakistan sides that won Asian Games gold in Guangzhou in 2010 and Incheon in 2014. “I am honoured to have been appointed as the captain of the Pakistan women’s cricket team,” Dar said. “It is a huge responsibility, and I am excited to lead the team.” Coles was Pakistan’s head coach from 2017 to 2019. “We have a lot of potential in the team, and I look forward to helping the players to give their best and achieve success on the international stage,” Coles was quoted as saying in the PCB release. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.