Saleema Imtiaz set to become Pakistan’s first woman umpire in ICC

In a historic achievement, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced Saleema Imtiaz's nomination as the first Pakistani woman to the ICC International Panel of Development Umpires.

This prestigious nomination qualifies her to officiate in women's bilateral international matches and ICC Women's Events, marking a major milestone in Pakistan's cricketing history.

In regard to this achievement, the 52-year-old expressed gratitude to the cricket body and shed light on the growing opportunities for women in cricket.

Speaking to the PCB in an interview, Saleema said, "I owe immense gratitude to the PCB for the invaluable opportunities that paved the way for this achievement. This moment reflects the growing influence of women in cricket and the PCB’s commitment to fostering that development."

Regardless of being a mother to the international player Kainat Imtiaz, Saleema began her umpiring career with the PCB Women’s Umpire Panel back in 2008.

She has been spotted officiating in major events, including 2022 and 2024 Asian Cricket Council Women’s T20 Asia Cup, 2023 ACC Emerging Women’s Cup in Hong Kong, and was recently a member of the playing control team for the ACC Women’s Premier Cup 2024 in Kuala Lampur.

Additionally, she’ll be making her first appearance after this milestone in the Pakistan-South Africa women’s T20I series in Multan on September 16.

During the match, Nasir Hussain from the PCB Elite Panel of Umpires will accompany Saleema while Humairah Farah will be taking decisions as the third umpire and Muhammad Javed Malik will be the match referee.

Emphasising that this journey requires a lot of hard work, Saleema said this is an achievement for all the women out there willing to pursue their career in cricket.

Recalling her daughter’s debut, she added, “Ever since Kainat made her debut for Pakistan in 2010, my own dream has been to represent my country at an international level. While I’ve had opportunities with the Asian Cricket Council, officiating at the highest level has always been the ultimate goal. 

"I’m now focused on performing to the best of my abilities in both bilateral and ICC matches, and building my reputation as a reliable and respected match official."

Match Officials for 2024-25

PCB International Panel of Match Referees: Ali Naqvi, Muhammad Javed Malik

PCB International Panel of Umpires: Aleem Dar, Asif Yaqoob, Faisal Khan Aafreedi, Rashid Riaz Waqar

ICC International Panel of Development Umpires: Saleema Imtiaz

PCB Elite Panel of Match Referees: Aleem Khan Moosa, Athar Laiq, Bilal Moinul Haq Khiljee, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kamran Chaudhry, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Iqbal Sheikh, Nadeem Arshad, and Sohail Idrees

PCB Elite Panel of Umpires: Abdul Moqeet, Ahmed Shahab, Aleem Dar, Aley Haider, Asif Yaqoob, Aslam Bareach, Faisal Khan Aafreedi, Farooq Ali Khan, Ghulam Sarwar, Imran Jawed, Imranullah Aslam, Kashif Sohail, Khalid Mehmood Sr., Majid Hussain, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Sajid, Nasir Hussain, Qaiser Waheed, Rana Muhammad Arshad, Rashid Riaz Waqar, Saqib Khan, Shozab Raza, Syed Imtiaz Iqbal, Tariq Rasheed, Waleed Yaqub, and Zulfiqar Jan

PCB Supplementary Panel of Match Referees: Abu-al-Hasnat Rao, Ahmer Saeed, Ali Gohar, Fazal Akbar Shah, Ghulam Mustafa, Inamullah Khan, Muhammad Amiruddin Ansari, Saman Zulfiqar, Samiul Haq, and Sohail Khan

PCB Supplementary Panel of Umpires: Abdul Karim, Ahmed Nadeem, Aqeel Aadil Khan, Asif Farooq Awan, Dilshad Ali, Haroon Malik, Hashim Ali, Hassan Mahmood, Irfan Haider, Jamshid Iqbal, Kamran Khalil, Muhammad Basit, Muhammad Fayyaz, Muhammad Imran, Muhammad Irfan Dilshad, Muhammad Kaleem, Muhammad Waqas, Naseer Ahmed, Qaiser Waheed, Rafiq Ahmad, Raza Asghar, Saleem Butt, Sultan Mahmood, Syed Fahim Ahmed Bukhari, Waqar Ahmed, and Zeeshan Arif

PCB Development Panel of Umpires: Aamer Atta, Abdul Basit, Abdul Qayoom, Abrar Ahmed, Adnan Rashid, Ajmal Khan, Anser Mahmood, Asim Alvi, Farooq Anwar Bajwa, Farooq Jan, Furqan Butt, Ghayyur Hussain, Hameed Khan, Hidayatullah, Imran Naseem, Jaffar Hussian, Khalid Mahmood Jr, Khalid Younas, Khalil Ahmad Siddiqi, Maqbool Ahmed, Mehtab Hussain, Muhammad Aamir Sharif, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Asif Jr, Muhammad Imran Jr, Muhammad Masood Afridi, Muhammad Shafiqul Hai, Muhammad Yousaf, Mumtaz Ali, Muneeb Ahsan, Munir Ahmed, Naik Muhammad, Nasar Khan, Naveed Khan, Noor ul Hakam, Raweed Khan, Sadiq Amin, Sagheer Ahmed, Saifullah Khan, Shahid Aslam, Shahid Naseem, Sheraz Ahmed Rajput, Sohail Khan, Sohail Zaman Khattak, Waqas Zeb, and Waseemuddin

PCB Women’s Panel of Umpires: Afia Amin, Ayesha Farooq, Fakhira Kazim Syeda, Humairah Farah, Nazia Nazir, Riffat Mustafa, Sabahat Rasheed, Saleema Imtiaz, Sania Ashraf, Shakila Rafiq, Sukhan Faiz, Sumaira Sajid, and Zakia Gul 

Comments

Submit