When I got the captaincy, I thought that I have to become like Dhoni: Pakistan women's captain

Pakistan Women's skipper Fatima Sana recently shared that her source of inspiration for captaincy was former Indian cricketing legend MS Dhoni. The 2025 mega event will be the second World Cup Sana will be playing, this time as skipper.

Sana narrated that she has been a keen observer of Dhoni's matches for India and Chennai Super Kings. She also mentioned how she imbibed a lot from Dhoni's various likeable on-field attributes as skipper as well as his interviews to the media. 

"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. 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," stated Sana, as quoted by The Daily Star.

Sana was appointed as Pakistan Women's full-time captain during the squad announcement of the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup. She has been eager to grow into the leadership role and has also performed quite well with bat and ball on occasions.

Speaking of Pakistan's journey in the buildup to the World Cup, they will be taking on South Africa in a three-match ODI series at home. The Women in Green will then play Sri Lanka Women twice (September 25 and September 28) in their warm-up fixtures.

Pakistan's round-robin stage for the upcoming Women's World Cup is scheduled to commence on October 2 with a clash against Bangladesh. They will play all their group-stage matches at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Sana, along with a few other experienced players, will be expected to lead the charge in the eight-team tournament. Pakistan had finished at the bottom in the previous Women's World Cup in 2022 with only one win and six losses.