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Pakistan women’s national cricket team’s major squad changes have sparked a fresh debate, but the head coach, Wahab Riaz, has strongly defended the selectors’ decision. Wahab Riaz has hit back at Sana Mir by making it clear that the changes were made by keeping the future of the team in mind.
Pakistan selectors made several big changes to their squad for the Women’s Asia Cup 2026. They have left out seven players. Iram Javed, Aliya Riaz, and Natalia Pervaiz were among the experienced names dropped from the team for the tournament. Earlier, Fatima Sana dismisses Shafali Verma after 3,000-run milestone, gives send-off.
Wahab Riaz responds to Sana Mir’s criticism over Women's Asia Cup 2026 changes
Wahab Riaz said that the decision was mainly based on form, as they were struggling to deliver. The Pakistan head coach also responded to Sana Mir’s criticism and said that she was entitled to her own opinion. He made it clear that he had nothing to do with her views on the squad changes.
Riaz said at the post-match press conference after India thrashed Pakistan by nine wickets in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 clash: “Sana Mir has her own opinion. I have nothing to do with that opinion. We have made changes with the future in mind. The players who were playing before have played a lot of World Cups and Asia Cups, but we were not getting the results.”
Wahab Riaz explains why Pakistan dropped several senior players
The former pacer explained that Pakistan had to start thinking beyond the players who had been part of the team for several major tournaments. Many of those players had already featured in multiple World Cups and Asia Cups, yet they didn’t win the championship.
That is why the selection committee decided to bring in fresh faces and give younger players a chance to grow with the national women’s team. Riaz believes that the changes were needed to prepare Pakistan for the tournaments coming up in the future.
Riaz further added, “So, it was time to go with new faces and bring new girls into the mix to build the team for the upcoming tournaments. It isn’t about who we left behind. We have to look at the reality. The girls who were left out were not performing at all. I think we did the right move by bringing new girls into the mix.”
Wahab Riaz backs Pakistan to bounce back after India defeat
After the India match, Pakistan must now beat Hong Kong in their final group-stage match to keep their semi-final hopes alive. However, Riaz remains confident about the ability of the new-look Pakistan side.
He feels the players have the skills needed to perform at this level but need to believe more in themselves as they eye a Women’s Asia Cup 2026 semifinal spot. Amid this, Tilak Varma sledges Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, exchange turns physical in Duleep Trophy.
The former Pakistani pacer signed off by saying, “I believe that all the players in our team are very skilful, and they just need to trust themselves. Our next match is against Hong Kong. We will go back and discuss what we did wrong against India.”
