Sana Mir says the perception about Pakistani
women is vastly wrong from the reality and women in the country are part of
most professions back home now
30
September 2012 - 06:54am IST by Shashank Kishore in Galle
Sana Mir wasn't even
a full-time cricketer when she decided to forego a career in Electronics and
Telecommunication engineering. From playing street cricket with her brother to
becoming the captain of the national team, her career has come a long way since
making her debut in 2005. She speaks about her formative years, the role her
family has played and how the gold medal at the Asian Games in 2010 has changed
the face of women's cricket in Pakistan. Excerpts:
Many believe Pakistan is conservative when it
comes to women taking up sport. Do you think that perception has changed since
you made your debut in 2005?
I think this
perception is media-based, to be honest. Unfortunately, not many good stories
about Pakistan come out in the media. Things have improved drastically from
what it was like ten years ago. Women are working in almost every field back
home. Yes, when it comes to cricket, we are still an upcoming team. We started
playing professionally in 2005, but the team has been in existence since 1997.
We also have the women back home taking up hockey, badminton and swimming. So,
yes things have improved.
How difficult is it for women to take up sport
at a professional level in Pakistan?
Initially, it was
very tough. When we started off in 2005, a lot of us had to sacrifice our jobs
and studies to play full time. I wasn't even selected in the team when I chose
to take up cricket. I didn't know what the future had in store. I was confused
whether to take up a new field, or an already established one like Engineering.
But now, cricket is getting a lot of recognition. It is important for
educational institiutions to lend their support. There are one or two
universities who've come out to help the girls. Things have improved after the
Pakistan Cricket Board has introduced central contracts for women cricketers.
Girls are now paid to play cricket.
Has there been any corporate support back home
to support the women playing cricket?
Right now, we have
only one sponsor in ADBP Bank. We would love to have more institutions and
corporates come on board and help women's cricket. After all, financial
security is also important. What we want
is a situation where no player feels insecure at any stage. We don't want them
to think about what could happen after their playing days.
How is talent identified and nurtured?
Women have access to
all the regional academies and centres that the men use. The set-up is very
good in big cities like Lahore, Karachi and Sialkot. There are different
coaches for women. There are good training and lodging facilities as well. We
have 13 teams competing in the 50-overs national championship. These are the
teams from where we get the talent. Each city chooses one team to represent it
after a district tournament and open trials.
You have players coming from various regions
across the country. Is it a challenge to bridge the divides?
As a captain, it has
never been a challenge. Being from an army background, I've lived in all four
provinces of the country. Getting the team together to play for Pakistan is the
biggest motivation one can have. There is only one common goal, one dream and
every girl wants to fulfil her role.
How has the PCB helped to facilitate training?
Over the past two
years, we've had a lot of camps. The board has organised a lot of international
tours. The attitude towards women's cricket has changed since we won the gold
at the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010. Even coming into the ICC World
Twenty20, we had a tour of Ireland, which we won. We had a good training camp
here and played a couple of warm-ups, so they are doing a lot for women's
cricket now. But yes, the awareness has come after our win at the Asian Games
in 2010.
You've beaten sides like South Africa and West
Indies recently, something that didn’t happen in the past. Do you think the
side believes in itself a lot more now?
After going winless
in the first two editions of the World Twenty20, it was tough for us to digest
the fact that we didn't perform as well as we would have liked. We knew we had
to change our mindset. We had talent, but it wasn't translating into
performances. We've worked really hard at training, and I think the
improvements will slowly show in every aspect of our game.
Did you have pep-talk sessions with any of the
Pakistani greats before the tournament?
We had a four-day
camp in Lahore which was mainly affected by rain. So we had a few sessions with
the psychologist on the mental make-up and how to approach a match day, how an
individual prepares for the game keeping the team's interest in mind. We also
spoke a lot to Aamir Sohail, Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam, all of whom gave
us tips on the technicalities. So yes, interacting with them really helped us.
Talk us through the role your family has
played in your development as a cricketer?
If I'm sitting here
today, it is only because of my family. My parents have been really supportive.
I started off playing on the streets with my elder brother. My mother has made
many sacrifices for me. She ensured that I didn't have to really do any household
chores, she just allowed me to play.
When I told my father about my decision to quit engineering, he backed
my decision and told me there were very few women cricketers as compared to
engineers in the country. So that was the backing I needed. He is the one who
allowed me to pursue my dream.
Is there some awareness back home about
women's cricket and the Women's World Twenty20?
Yes, a lot of people
are now aware of us. The Asian Games Gold medal changed things for us. The
men's team normally gets all the attention, but this time there were a few
publications and media houses who also extensively covered our progress. I'm
thankful to them. Results won't come overnight. It will take time, but what is
important is that the sport has to grow, and for that we need to play more
often against the international sides, which I'm sure will happen as we go
along.
0 comments:
Post a Comment