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Sri Lanka Women cricketers celebrate their win over Bangladesh Women in the Commonwealth Games Qualifier match in Malaysia
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
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Sri Lanka Women’s cricket captain Chamari Athapaththu has broken into the ICC Women’s T20I rankings
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Sri Lanka Women cricketers who qualified to play in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after emerging champions in the qualifying tournament in Malaysia, are due to tour to Pakistan in the second week of May as preparation for the big event.
Sri Lanka Women’s head coach Hashan Tillakaratne said that the team would tour Pakistan for five ODIs and three T20Is and that these matches would be used as preparation for the Commonwealth Games, where Sri Lanka face tough opposition, being drawn in Group 2 with England, New Zealand and South Africa. India, Australia, Pakistan and Barbados form the other group.
The tour to Pakistan was scheduled to take place last October but it fell through due to the change in management at the Pakistan Cricket Board.
In the ICC Women’s ODI rankings Sri Lanka are currently in ninth place with Pakistan seventh, and in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings Sri Lanka are placed eighth and Pakistan seventh.
Tillakaratne also disclosed that Kenya, one of the team’s that Sri Lanka beat in the Commonwealth Games qualifying tournament, has invited Sri Lanka to come and play a series of five ODIs and three T20Is in March. He said the tour was subject to confirmation from both Cricket Boards and that Sri Lanka would be sending their Emerging side.
Tillakaratne thanked Sri Lanka Cricket for all the facilities provided for women’s cricket to successfully qualify for the Commonwealth Games.
The victorious Sri Lanka Women cricketers led by superstar Chamari Athapaththu will be returning to Colombo from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia tomorrow.
Athapaththu gained six points to break into the top 10 of the ICC Women’s T20I rankings for batters after a superb performance in the Commonwealth Games Qualifiers where she amassed 221 runs at an outstanding average and strike rate of 55.25 and 185.71 respectively. Athapaththu currently sits in eighth place in the rankings.
She has also made a significant gain in the ICC Women’s T20I all-rounder rankings, rising a place above to seventh spot after helping Sri Lanka win the qualifying tournament registering figures of 3 for 17 in the final against Bangladesh in addition to playing a swashbuckling knock of 48 at the top of the order.
