“You will face many challenges in your life, but you have to be honest with yourself to achieve your dreams,” said Saira Jabeen, the first Pakistani female cricketer to be sponsored by an Australian cricket club.
The 22-year-old cricketer Saira Jabeen belongs to the remote valley of Lower Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She is the only cricketer from the Kalash community to sign a six-month contract with the Paramatta Cricket Club Sidney Australia.
“I have always had a passion for becoming a cricketer since my childhood, but there are no sports facilities in my village. There were no playgrounds for girls, so I used to wear a cap to hide my hair and wear boys' clothes to play cricket with other young people in the village,” said Jabeen.
According to Saira Jabeen, she moved to Punjab to achieve her dreams. In 2021, she was selected by Punjab University after seeing her performance during the trial in the academy in Lahore and gained admission to the university on a sports quota.
Saira Jabbar showed her talents in many matches, and in a short time, she was selected for the Pakistan domestic women's tournament as well as the Pakistan women cricket team.
Her father, Hardil Aziz, is a school teacher in Ramboor, Kalash Valley. “Success is not easy, and it takes time and effort. Saira had a dream to go into cricket, so she left her village to join the cricket academy,” said Aziz. “I wanted her to become a doctor, but she was always obsessed with becoming a world-class cricketer.”
After grade 12, she enrolled in Peshawar University in 2020 and also joined a cricket academy in Peshawar, but she faced many problems during training because she was the only girl in the club and there were no other cricket academy for girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After two semesters, Saira migrated to Lahore, and currently she is also pursuing her bachelor degree in journalism at the University of Punjab.
Ajab Gul, a social activist from Kalash Valley, told The Friday Times that it is an honor for the whole Kalash community that their daughter is representing our community and country at the international stage.
“She is the first girl in the history of the Kalash community to step onto the cricket field, which is a huge motivation for other girls in our society. We, the Kalasha community, are very grateful to the officials of the Pakistan cricket board, the University of Punjab, and the Parramatta Cricket Club Australia for giving the opportunity to Saira, and we hope she further polishes her skills in Australia,” said Gul.
Saira Jabeen also spoke about how she has good experience of grassroots cricket in Pakistan, and she was looking forward to gaining experience at competitive cricket in Australia through the Paramatta Cricket Club. She hopes that this contract will play an important role in improving her cricket.
“My dream is to make big records for my country on the international stage, and one day I will represent my home Pakistan internationally,” said Jabeen.