Sana is gearing up to lead her side into the ODI World Cup later this month.
Pakistan women’s cricket team captain Fatima Sana says she is drawing inspiration from the legendary MS Dhoni’s leadership book as she gears up to lead her side into the ODI World Cup later this month.
The showpiece event, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is slated to get underway on September 30. The Women in Green will play all their matches in Sri Lanka, starting their campaign against Bangladesh in Colombo on October 2.
Sana acknowledged that the pressure of leading the national side at such a stage is natural, but said she looks to Dhoni as her role model.
“It is natural to be a little nervous initially when captaining in a big tournament like the World Cup, but I take inspiration from Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a captain,” Sana told PTI.
“I have seen his matches as India and CSK captain. His on-field decision-making, calmness and the way he backs his players, there is a lot to learn from that. When I got the captaincy, I thought that I have to become like Dhoni. I also watched his interviews and got to learn a lot,” she added.
Pakistan have participated in five previous editions of the Women’s ODI World Cup but victories have been hard to come by. However, Sana expressed confidence in her side to leave a mark this time around.
“This time, the jinx will definitely be broken because the young players know how important this tournament is for Pakistan women’s cricket. We will not think about the past. My goal is to take the team to the semifinals,” she said.
The all-rounder, who has 397 runs and 45 wickets in 34 ODIs, is backing her bowlers to deliver. “We have top-class bowlers in the team and spinners will be our trump card. We will depend more on bowling than batting but in the last one year, we have worked a lot on batting and we will get results,” she added.
Pakistan have a series scheduled against South Africa before the tournament, and Sana is confident that her team will arrive in Sri Lanka with good preparations.
“The team is in good rhythm and after the good performance in the qualifiers, everyone’s morale is high,” she stated.