From death threats to world records: how Shazia and Sharmeen Khan built Pakistan Women’s Cricket

In 1993, two Pakistani sisters sat among the crowd at the Women’s World Cup final at Lord’s Cricket Ground and walked away with a belief that would change the future of cricket in Pakistan forever.

Shazia Khan and Sharmeen Khan returned home convinced that Pakistan needed a women’s cricket team of its own. At the time, the idea felt almost impossible. Women’s cricket barely existed in the country, there was no proper structure, no pathway, and little public acceptance.

What followed was years of resistance that today sounds almost unimaginable.

The sisters faced fierce backlash for pursuing the sport they loved. Conservative groups protested outside their home, court cases were filed against them, and they reportedly received death threats simply for trying to organise women’s cricket in Pakistan. At one stage, authorities even placed them on the Exit Control List while they were attempting to take Pakistan to the 1997 Women’s World Cup.

But the obstacles did not stop them.

Determined to create opportunities for female cricketers, the Khan sisters built the foundations of the game themselves. Their father supported the dream by constructing a cricket pitch for them, while the sisters recruited players, arranged matches, raised funds and worked tirelessly to establish a functioning women’s cricket structure from scratch.

Their efforts finally led to a historic breakthrough when Pakistan played its first women’s international matches in 1997, marking the beginning of a new era for the sport in the country.

Alongside helping establish women’s cricket in Pakistan, Shazia Khan also achieved a remarkable feat on the field. In 2004, she produced one of the greatest bowling performances in the history of women’s Test cricket, taking 13 wickets against the West Indies, a world record for best bowling figures in a women’s Test match that still stands today.

The journey, however, also carried heartbreak. In 2018, Sharmeen Khan passed away at the age of 46 after suffering from pneumonia, leaving behind a legacy that transformed the landscape of women’s sport in Pakistan.

Today, Pakistan women’s cricket features international stars, central contracts, televised matches and regular World Cup appearances. Yet the foundations of that progress trace back to two sisters who refused to accept that women could not play cricket.

Pakistan women’s cricket owes an enduring debt to Shazia and Sharmeen Khan, pioneers whose courage changed the game forever.