Getting only 12 balls for the whole year, the Balochistan women cricketers’ are seeking premier Imran Khan Attention for their issues.

The women cricketer in the province is disappointed and possibly there would be no female cricketer in near future.

Playing in the hottest weather and scorching sun could not disappoint the Balochistan women cricket team but the ban over the regional and district matches by the Pakistan cricket board did told Amn Baloch, because she had stopped playing football to make a good future in cricket in 2011.

Amn has played cricket for the last fourteen years, now she is planning to go to Islamabad to get masters in physical education and plans to be one of Balochistan first cricket coach, but it again seems to no avail as the Pakistan Cricket Board banned the local regional and district women cricket matches in Balochistan.

In the past on 23rd March, 14th August there used to be women cricket tournaments and matches and they were sponsored by the government of Balochistan. After the PCB ban over the women cricket matches it hurts the will of women cricketers in the province.

Balochistan is the area wise largest province of Pakistan and currently its youth are on agitation for not having employments as the province is lacking industries and factories like other provinces of the country. Though the province provides’ high revenue to the federal revenue through its minerals rich resources.

“Earlier there used to be 5000 PKR to 10000 PKR stipends for each player and the players were given stay in good hotels and talented players were given cash prizes but it all stopped” Amn Baloch said.

“In 2018 we played well in the Super League in Peshawar, and our team reached to the final matches category, neither government of Balochistan nor the ministry of sports, though, our women players are only having grounds in Quetta, still not having coaches and grounds in rest of the districts”.

It is very sad that there are four coaches for boys but for girls only one coach, nor we have a separate ground, in the Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti stadium both boys and girls practice together. “While we started coaching girls in 2008 there were only two girls”, says Aqil Baloch, the coach for women cricketers.

“One of these players was Nahida Khan who is now part of the Pakistan Women Cricket team. And guest cricketers were selected from Lahore and Karachi but in 2012 the number of our own girls raised and we had a complete team”, says Aqil. “We have tribal culture and no resources. Girls from far flung areas cannot come because they have neither transport nor money to join the public transport”.

This is the reason that many of these brilliant and talented girls leave their category of sports they have opted for midway and they remain disappointed and hurt for having no availability of coaches, grounds and stipends by the government told Aqil.

The Lahore and Karachi based women cricket teams are lucky both supported by provincial governments and sponsored by the different companies and industries in these provinces this why their morale is up and they train good cricketers told Aqil. “We have enough talent in the form of Nahida Khan, and many like her are still among us but they have nothing to keep their profession and passion up”.

“Our girls are never lesser than the boys, but we lack healthy activities for our girls and no grounds and no stadiums this is why their body structures are affected. Education shouldn’t be only in text book, getting together and extra-curricular activities are its part”, says Dr Barakat Shah Kakar, professor at the University of Balochistan.

“When women are thrown on acids how will girls come to join sports, except Quetta there are regions where women sports is not possible”, asks Kakar.

If a girl breaks all the cultural structures and joins sports but still not supported by the government then what will be her future, asks Kakar. “The government lack policies for girls sports, we have enough youths but the proper frame of policies can pave the way for their bright future”.

One of the sources within the sports ministry asking anonymity told that the women cricket team in Balochistan gets only “a dozen ball for the whole year, rest they get nothing else”. The regional tournaments used to be a chance to provide the cricketers the kits. Now the Balochistan is kept in the Karachi zone and this ignores the existence of women cricketers in the province. The same questions were asked by the women cricketers from Managing Director Pakistan Cricket Board Waseem Ahmed on his visit to Quetta. “He vowed that Balochistan would be given its own zone status, but the vows are yet to take ground”.

The sports activities for all including girls’ sports is in priority of the Balochistan government. The government schools, colleges and universities are given chance to arrange sport activities and the sports complexes across the province are going to be active soon to mainstream our youths and sportsmen and women told Liaqat Shahwani, the spokesperson for government of Balochistan.

“The sportsmen and women are encouraged, we will surely raise the women cricketers issues with the Pakistan Cricket Board”, says Shahwani.

Qasim Khan Suri the deputy speaker of national assembly told that he had taken the issue of the women cricketers with the Pakistan Cricket Board in a meeting with the chairman PCB Ahsan Mani. “In the next meeting it would be again discussed and the PCB would be pushed to focus the women cricketers’ issues in the province”. As our premier Imran Khan is himself having a very bright history in the world cricket and the issue would be even tabled for his information, Suri said. While on the issue of “only one dozen balls of cricket for women cricketers of Balochistan for a complete year” was asked for verification from the PCB Karachi based office their reply is still to come.

The writer is a freelancer from Quetta, Balochistan. He covers conflict, culture, society, politics, war and human rights. He tweets as @ghazanfar_media