Pakistan women’s team cricketer Aliya Riaz wants to consistently perform as an all-rounder for the national side.
Aliya has played 53 ODI and 72 T20I matches for Pakistan over the course of her career since making her debut in 2014. She has accumulated 1,769 runs and claimed 25 wickets in international matches, so far.
While speaking to Geo News, the 30-year-old said that she has fully recovered from a back injury and is eager to contribute with both bat and ball.
“I wasn’t able to perform well in the last couple of series but in the T20 World Cup I tried to put up a good show for Pakistan. I try my best to perform consistently but unfortunately ups and downs are part of life,” said Aliya.
“I also suffered a lower back injury which is why I wasn’t able to bowl but I’m totally fine now and will try to perform well for my side as an all-rounder,” she added.
She also shed light on her role in the side and the challenging task of batting at different positions in the lineups.
“I try to perform well regardless of my batting order. My role in the side is that of a finisher which I try to do to the best of my ability,” she said. “The batting order is only fixed for two to three players in the side while the rest bat in accordance with the situation of the match. But, obviously, batting higher up the order can prove helpful as it gives you more opportunities to score runs.”
Aliya also spoke about the importance of Women’s T20 League for Pakistan cricketers.
“I was very happy to see PSL exhibition matches and they were very successful. I think it is very important that we have our own league. It also improves the confidence level of our players and you learn from playing alongside good cricketers. PSL is already a huge name, which is why women’s PSL would also help the girls a great deal,” she said.
It must be noted that three Women’s League exhibition matches also took place during the recently-concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.