Players to watch at Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025
We look at a host of players to keep an eye on as the tournament beckons.
Shorna Akter first made her mark at the inaugural ICC Women's U19 Cricket World Cup 2023, being the highest run-scorer for her side with 153 runs at an average of 51 with a vehement strike rate of 157.7.
Her stunning form led to an immediate promotion into the senior setup, where the youngster has since gone on to cement her place and reputation.
She has additional leg-spin skills that have yielded 18 international wickets so far, though the all-rounder would look to make an equal impact with her batting in the lower middle-order for her side.
A handy all-rounder with 90 international matches under her belt, Leah Paul is a key cog in the Irish side.
While she can turn her arm over with aplomb, Leah's batting skills have held Ireland in good stead of late. She stood out with gritty batting performances during her side's tour of India, wherein she had defiant scores of 59, 27*, and 15 despite Ireland losing the series 3-0.
She had a confident knock (46) in the warm-up against West Indies leading into the tournament, and would love to carry that form over the next couple of weeks in Pakistan.
An adept wicketkeeper-batter in the T20I format, Gull Feroza gets her first opportunity to play the 50-overs format for Pakistan.
Known for her attacking approach, Feroza scored 28 twice in the two warm-up fixtures for Pakistan, and would look to provide similar positive starts at the top.
And if Feroza's strike-rate turns up anywhere closer to her T20I numbers (97.59), she can contribute for the hosts during the important qualification tournament in a big way.
Carter tosses one up and gets a breakthrough | WT20WC 2024
All of but 19, Darcey Carter already has 30 international outings for Scotland. While her role in the T20I side has been that of a finisher, in the ODIs, Carter comes higher up the order.
And if she lives anywhere near to her potential, glimpses of which were seen during her 55 in the warm-up against Bangladesh, the youngster can have a tournament to remember. A handy off-tweaker too, Carter's spin can be of immense use to her side in Pakistan.
During their warm-up game against Pakistan, while the remaining Thailand side floundered, Maya held her own with an unbeaten 26, being the only player from the side to get to double digits.
Having become a regular for the Thai side over the last three years, the 20-year-old has 299 runs and 37 wickets in international cricket.
Maya is an important batter for her side, and can also be handy with her light medium pace, as showed in the team's warm-up against Ireland, where Maya picked a brace.
Zaida James' incredible individual performance | U19 Women's T20 World Cup
A top performer for West Indies in the 2023 U19 Women's T20 World Cup, Zaida James has since transitioned to the senior setup.
A confident left-handed batter, who can be more than handy with her spin (15 wickets with her slow left-arm orthodox), James will be crucial in Pakistan, where the wickets are expected to hold some help for the tweakers. ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, 2025 News
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