Pakistan have suffered a setback at the 2026 Asian Games after wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali was forced to return home due to her mother’s illness.
Muneeba left the team during the tournament to be with her mother. With the Asian Games moving quickly towards the knockout stage and the event set to finish on September 22, the Pakistan Cricket Board decided not to call up a replacement.
Who will be Pakistan's wicketkeeper batter in Asian Games 2026?
Gull Feroza has now taken over wicketkeeping duties in Muneeba’s absence. She is also expected to continue opening the innings, having done the job in Pakistan’s quarter-final against Thailand.
Feroza has previously opened for Pakistan, including during the T20 World Cup, where she finished the tournament with an unbeaten 63 against the Netherlands. She had recently moved down to No. 3 during the Asia Cup in Dubai.
Muneeba’s absence is a major blow for Pakistan given her experience. She was the only Pakistan batter to score a fifty during the recent Asia Cup. She also captained the team during the T20I series in Sri Lanka in July when regular captain Fatima Sana was away playing for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.
Pakistan seal semifinal berth after defeating Thailand
Pakistan, meanwhile, survived a major scare against Thailand to reach the Asian Games semi-finals.
The defending champions were pushed all the way in a rain-affected quarter-final, which was reduced to 11 overs per side. Chasing 92, Pakistan eventually got over the line by three wickets with two balls to spare.
Pakistan made an early breakthrough after choosing to bowl, with Fatima Sana dismissing Natthakan Chantham for six with only her second delivery.
Nannapat Koncharoenkai then took charge of the Thailand innings. She scored 49 off 38 balls and put on 65 runs for the second wicket with Phannita Maya, who made 15 before being retired out.
Thailand received another boost from Naruemol Chaiwai, who hit 10 from just three balls. Fatima returned to bowl the final over and removed Koncharoenkai lbw, finishing with figures of 2/22. Thailand ended their innings on 91/6.
Pakistan got off to a quick start in the chase, with Shawaal Zulfiqar and Gull Feroza putting together 36 runs for the opening wicket. Shawaal scored 25 off 14 balls before Thailand fought back.
Pakistan then lost four wickets for just 11 runs in a dramatic 13-ball period and found themselves at 47/4 by the end of the powerplay.
Fatima Sana promoted herself to No. 4 and changed the momentum with a quick 21 off 13 balls. She smashed four consecutive boundaries off Onnicha Kamchomphu in the eighth over, while Eyman Fatima added a six to make it a 25-run over for Pakistan.
Thailand refused to give up, though. Fatima was dismissed in the ninth over, followed by the wickets of Eyman and Tuba Hassan in the 10th.
Tuba had already made an important contribution, hitting a six and a four to bring Pakistan’s target down from 16 runs off 12 balls to just four from the final over.
Umm-e-Hani and Eman Naseer kept their cool and collected four singles from the last six balls to seal Pakistan’s place in the semi-finals.
Pakistan will play the winner of the Sri Lanka-Malaysia quarter-final in Saturday’s semi-final. The remaining two quarter-finals will be played on Friday.