Pakistani woman cricketer draws inspiration from Virat Kohli

Bismah Maroof was in excellent form in the home series against Bangladesh

24-year-old Bismah Maroof, Pakistan’s star performer in the recently concluded limited overs series against Bangladesh, while speaking to Dawn after the end of the series mentioned how she idolises India Test captain Virat Kohli.

During the series against Bangladesh, Maroof put in an all-round performance to lead her country to victory in all the matches. In the two T20Is and the two ODIs, Maroof scored 109 runs and 133 runs respectively. She also picked a couple of wickets in the four matches played. In the interview, she mentioned how she tries to follow the style of Virat Kohli, Michael Clarke and Suresh Raina.

“My batting style is natural but I’m mostly inspired by right-handed players. I am a huge fan of Michael Clarke and watching and learning from players like Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli helps me improve my shot selection and construct my innings,” Maroof said.

According to Maroof, Pakistan women’s cricket has been progressing steadily since she made her debut as a 15-year-old against India Women in 2006. Maroof believes that the gold medal that the Pakistan Women won in the 2010 Asian Games was the turning point and it made the Pakistani people believe that that there was potential in women’s cricket.

Bangladesh’s visit of Pakistan was the first women’s international cricket tour in Pakistan after nearly a decade. Maroof hopes that Pakistan women’s cricket can make progress soon enough to challenge on the world stage as she feels that the quality of cricket there still lags behind other countries. For this to happen, she believes that the Pakistan Cricket Board needs to provide enough support.

“We think that that a there should be a separate national academy for female cricketers and more grounds should be built around the country particularly for women which would help the cricketing culture grow amongst women. As of now we do feel left behind,” Maroof observed.

“To encourage women to engage in cricketing activity and keeping them motivated it’s necessary for the authorities to make the profession more lucrative. Women deserve increment in pay with time as much as male cricketers.”

Pakistan Women are currently in the seventh position, as per the latest ICC Women’s rankings, which is led by Australia Women. Maroof and her teammates will be looking to climb into the top half of the rankings table and establish themselves as a force in Women’s cricket.

Maroof will be hoping that she can continue her impressive form when Pakistan visit the West Indies for an ODI tour, which is scheduled to begin on October 16.