After the Indian women's cricket team qualified for the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI World Cup 2021, Pakistan skipper Bismah Maroof has expressed her disappointment over the ICC's decision to share the equal points between the two sides for a bilateral series that failed to happen.
Earlier this month, the ICC Women`s Championship Technical Committee (TC) had decided that teams will share points in all three series in the ICC Women`s Championship that did not take place during the competition window.
The series between India and Pakistan could not take place because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) demonstrated that it was unable to obtain the necessary government clearances to allow India to participate in the bilateral series against Pakistan that forms part of the ICC Women`s Championship.
Also, the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of two other series. South Africa was to host Australia and Sri Lanka was to host New Zealand in the last round of matches.
After Pakistan missed out on an automatic qualification for the 2021 prestigious event, Maroof said that it was just a 'good luck' for India that they had been effectively awarded points for doing nothing.
"The decision was very disappointing, because we had been waiting [for] a long time to play against India and the board was working towards it.But we weren't getting any response from India. It's good luck for India, who got points without agreeing to play any matches. I suppose if we look at it in a positive light, we'll get a few extra competitive matches having to play the qualifying rounds," ESPNcricinfo quoted Maroof as saying in a video press conference.
Maroof further argued that it was Pakistan who were always willing to play against India and kept sports away from politics.
"There's always hype when we're due to play India and the fans want to see those matches because they're usually very exciting. Pakistan showed a willingness to play against India, and Pakistan have kept sport away from politics. So it was very disappointing for us not to get these matches, and we were number four, in a position to qualify directly, before the matches were due to go ahead. If we had lost those matches and then had to qualify, that would have been easy to accept. But as things stand, those matches will have been missed by all cricket fans, not just Pakistan fans," she added.
Maroof, on the other hand, also paid tribute to former Pakistan captain Sana Mir, who bid adieu to all forms of international cricket last week.
Describing Mir as a 'legend' of the game and ambassador of Pakistan cricket, the current captain said that the credit for the women's cricket's reputation and profile in Pakistan should go to Mir.
"Sana Mir is a legend of the game and an ambassador of Pakistan cricket. She was one of the great minds we all played under. We all grew under her, and the credit goes to her. The name women's cricket has here exists in a large part because of Sana's involvement with it. She has achieved a huge amount for Pakistan cricket, and she deserves all the praise she has received over the last few days. She is a true ambassador for women's cricket around the world and I wish her good luck in whatever she wants to do next," Maroof concluded.
Mir, who made her international debut with an ODI clash against Sri Lanka in Karachi in December 2005, went on to appear in a total of 120 matches for Pakistan in the 50-over format and claimed 151 wickets besides notching up 1,630 runs in it. In 106 T20Is, she scored 802 runs and took 89 wickets.
The former Pakistan skipper led the national side in 72 ODIs, winning 26 matches and losing 45.She also captained Pakistan in 65 T20Is, winning 26 and losing 36.
