Women's Premier League: Unfortunate to see Pakistan players missing out, says Urooj Mumtaz

Former Pakistan cricketer Urooj Mumtaz lamented the "unfortunate" exclusion of Pakistan players from the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).

Women cricketers from seven countries secured contracts at the first-ever WPL auction, which is set to transform the landscape of women's cricket in India. One country that did not stand a chance to participate in the auctions was Pakistan due to political tensions between the two countries. Pakistan's male counterparts played only in the inaugural edition of the IPL before they were banned.

Pakistan’s Nida Dar with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

"It is extremely unfortunate to see Pakistan players missing out," Urooj Mumtaz told ESPNcricinfo. "Every opportunity must be fair and inclusive, and all opportunities are steps towards collectively raising the standard of the women's game and globally growing the sport. Most importantly, they bridge the gap in quality between cricketing nations."

Pakistan women were supposed to play in PCB's own T20 league but the plan was shelved following a change in the administration in December when Ramiz Raja was replaced by Najam Sethi. The women's league is now postponed to September.

Ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup match against India, Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof said that.

"We as Pakistan you know we don't get many opportunities to play in the leagues and that's very unfortunate," said Maroof during an ICC press conference. "Definitely we will love to play and we would want every opportunity we can get in the leagues. But yeah, that's what it is and we can't control that."

Five WPL franchises spent INR 59.50 crore on buying 87 players for the inaugural edition of the tournament. The WPL will take place from March 5 to 26 in Mumbai.