Pakistan women’s team mentor Wahab Riaz has asserted that the Women in Green are still the strong favourites to lift the ongoing Women’s Asia Cup 2026 title. Notably, his comments came after Pakistan’s seven-wicket defeat to India on Saturday, September 5, in Dubai.
Speaking at the post-match press conference in Dubai, Riaz sounded confident in making a strong comeback in the next contest against Hong Kong without committing the same errors they made against Team India.
“I believe that all the players in our team are very skillful, and they just need to trust themselves. Our next match is against Hong Kong. We will go back and discuss what we did wrong against India. We won’t commit the same mistakes. I still believe Pakistan is the best side in this Asia Cup to lift the trophy because the conditions really suit us,” Riaz told reporters after the game.
On the other hand, former Pakistan captain Sana Mir lashed out at the team management for making too many changes to the squad after the T20 World Cup 2026 earlier this year. However, Riaz disagreed with the criticism.
“Sana Mir has her own opinion. I have nothing to do with that opinion. We have made changes with the future in mind. The players who were playing before, they have played a lot of World Cups and Asia Cups but we weren’t getting the results. So it was time to go with new faces and bring new girls into the mix to build the team for the upcoming tournaments,” Riaz added.
“It is not about who we left behind. We have to look at the reality. The girls who were left out weren’t performing at all. I think we did the right move by bringing new girls into the mix,” he concluded.
Delving into the details of the game between India and Pakistan, the Women in Green batted first and got bundled out for 55 runs in 18.1 overs. Shree Charani and Prema Rawat scalped three wickets apiece.
In the chase, India Women sealed the deal in 8.4 overs with seven wickets in hand. Fatima Sana scalped a three-wicket haul, but in vain. Harmanpreet Kaur was the top-scorer, amassing an unbeaten 18-run knock.
