The Astounding Rise of Sana Mir
Sana Mir, the veteran Pakistani bowler, rose to the top of ODI bowling rankings even though Australia managed a 3-0 clean sweep in their bilateral series. The 32-year-old off-spinner managed to get 7 wickets, and is now at the top of the women charts with 663 points. She is also the first Pakistani ever to achieve this feat.
Originally hailing from Kashmir, Sana was born into a military family. Her first memory of swinging a bat was at the age of three. She was only a sixth-grader when chosen for her school cricket team, made up entirely of boys, in tenth grade, but as she approached the end of her secondary school, she had to drastically reduce her cricket.
source: espncricinfo
For a girl in her early teens, playing on the street was nearly scandalous, so she began to direct her energies towards basketball, swimming and tennis, as well as towards learning martial arts. However, none of these could distract her from the disappointment of not playing cricket. She managed to convince her parents to pursue her dreams and the rest, as they say, is history.
Sana made her debut against Sri Lanka in December 2005. The talent that she possessed was quite evident, and she soon managed to cement her place in the lineup. Sana was made captain in 2009 and she led her team to the gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games.
The victory spelled the arrival of the new competent Pakistani side, and made shockwaves in the entire sports fraternity. It also bought fame and glory to Mir but she did not let the newly arrived popularity stand in the way of her goals. She continued her untiring efforts and was rightfully honored with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. She was also the first person to receive PCB Women Cricketer of the Year in 2013.
source: espncricinfo
After becoming the first female Pakistani cricketer to clinch the first spot, Sana Mir has attracted heaps of praise from notable sporting personalities around the world. Players like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez, and Jhulan Gaswami have lined up to applaud her achievements and rightly so as she is an icon, both on and off the field.
In a country as conservative as Pakistan, and in a masculine sport that is popularly known as ‘The Gentleman’s Game’, it wouldn’t be a far cry to label the uprising of Sana Mir as extraordinary.
Sana has long been criticized, but she has proved her faithfulness by always giving a hundred percent on the pitch, no matter what the stakes are. Off the field, Sana Mir has been an advocate of women rights and has spoken out in the defense of feminine athletes on multiple occasions.
source: espncricinfo
After rising to the helm of the ODI rankings, it can be said without any doubt that Sana Mir’s name will be written in golden lining in the history books as she continues to defy all odds by being Pakistan’s favorite and most prolific female athlete.
