Kainat Imtiaz, the Pakistani fast bowler, has officially retired from international cricket with the ambition of forging a new path as a match referee, following the route paved by her mother, Saleema Imtiaz. Recently, Kainat put her skills into practice, officiating matches during the PCB National Women’s Under-19 T20 tournament held in Karachi throughout August and September.
Kainat, known for her right-arm pace, made her international debut in a T20 match against South Africa in Potchefstroom back in October 2010 and appeared in her first ODI the following year against Ireland in Fatullah. Throughout her 13-year international career, she featured in 19 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 21 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), capturing ten wickets in ODIs with a bowling average of 51.40 and eight T20I wickets with an economy rate of 5.82.
Her achievements on the field include being part of the Pakistani squads that clinched gold medals at the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014 in China and South Korea, respectively. Kainat also represented Pakistan at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2017 Women’s World Cup.
Her last international appearances came in an ODI at the Gabba against Australia in January 2023, and her last T20 international was during the 2022 Asia Cup against Thailand in Sylhet.
Since leaving playing duties, Kainat has ventured into broadcasting, engaging audiences with both presenting and commentary roles during various cricket tournaments locally and internationally. Her decision to transition into match officiating follows the legacy of her mother, Saleema Imtiaz, who blazed a trail as the first female umpire from Pakistan to join the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) development panel. Saleema has fulfilled duties in nine women’s ODIs and 69 women’s T20Is thus far.
This move sees Kainat becoming the second recent former Pakistani female cricket player to step into the arena of match officiating, following Aiman Anwar’s similar career shift earlier this year.
