In a country where basic rights for women are still up for debate, making a name for yourself in a male-dominated sport like cricket is no easy feat. Yet, former Pakistan women’s captain Sana Mir does it time and again.
Mir became the first female cricketer from the country to be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame on Monday — and netizens believe there’s no one more deserving.
In 2018, Mir took the top spot in women’s one-day international rankings and helmed the team that took home gold from the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Her rise dovetailed with the growth in sporting opportunities for Pakistani women, who were not allowed to play in open fields until the early 2000s.
In a post on Instagram, the ICC called Mir an ambassador for women’s cricket.
Actor Hareem Farooq and musician Zeb Bangash congratulated Mir on their Instagram stories, with Farooq writing that she was “super proud” of Mir.
“May you always shine and keep making us and our country proud. More power to you,” the actor wrote.
Cricketers Hassan Ali, Fawad Alam, and Sarfaraz Ahmed were just as proud. “You continue to make all of us proud. Congratulations,” Ali wrote.
“Great to see Sana Mir receive the recognition she truly deserves. ICC Hall of Fame is a big honour, may you continue to inspire generations,” Alam said on his Instagram story.
Ahmed called Mir a “true pioneer and role model for generations to come” and congratulated her on the feat.
Pakistan Super League team, the Karachi Kings, on their official X account called Mir “a true icon of Pakistani cricket.”
Other Pakistani cricket fans on social media reflected on Mir’s journey, believing she deserved every bit of the achievement.
An X (formerly Twitter) user highlighted that the news would make everyone’s “otherwise depressing day, owing to all the misogyny that doesn’t go away.”
Another person maintained that Mir was responsible for paving the way for “generations of girls to chase their dreams in cricket and beyond.”
Social media users stated that Mir was a “trailblazer”, “a leader”, “a legend”, and helped “redefine women’s cricket in Pakistan”.
“Her remarkable career, leadership, and contributions have cemented her status as a true legend of the game,” an X user wrote.
Since her 2005 debut, Mir has played 226 international matches. She’s one of only nine women cricketers to have taken 100 wickets and scored 1,000 runs in ODI matches. She also led Pakistan to two World Cups and five T20 World Cups.
The ICC said that with over 200 international wickets against the white-ball, Mir was renowned for her work on and off the field.
It added she was also well known for her strong stance on body shaming, prioritising mental health and helping people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. It said she “fulfils a childhood dream by joining the ICC Hall of Fame”.
“From dreaming as a little girl that one day there would even be a women’s team in our country to now standing here, inducted among the very legends I idolised long before I ever held a bat or a ball — this is a moment I couldn’t have dared to imagine,” she was quoted as saying by the ICC.
