Nida Dar is a key player of the Pakistan women’s cricket team. Since her debut, she has been turning heads for her standout all-round performances. Her major role is with the ball as the primary off-spinner for the side. No less with the bat, she is known as “Lady Boom Boom” for her aggressive batting.
Nida made her T20I debut, on 6th May, 2010 against Sri Lanka. In the same year, she made her ODI debut as well as featuring in the Asian Games. Since 2010, Dar has been the vital part of the team.
In 2018, Nida performed remarkably in the Asia Cup. Against Sri Lanka, Nida was lethal with her spinning ball. She bagged her first five wicket haul, sealing the deal for her team. With this, Dar recorded the best ever bowling figures for Pakistan in WT20I. She ended up as the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in the tournament with 11 wickets in only 5 matches.
She was also seen performing national duties in the T20 World Cup, 2018. In 2019, Nida Dar became the first Pakistani woman to take part in WBBL. She wore the Sydney Strikers’ jersey and didn’t fail to impress with her outstanding abilities. She took 13 wickets in 11 matches, at a strike rate of 14. She also batted decently, coming late in the order with a high score of 43. Nida recalls the tournament as a memorable one.
In 2020, she was again part of the World Cup squad. In this tournament, Dar appeared in her 100th T20I against England.
In 2021, Dar became the first Pakistani cricketer to take 100 wickets in T20I. With this, she also became the highest wicket taker for Pakistan in the shorter format, overtaking star all-rounder, Shahid Afridi with reference to whom she is named Lady Boom Boom.
Dar is also the only Pakistani to score 1000 runs and bag 100 wickets in T20I. She is the fourth leading wicket taker in the world in this format of the game, following Anisa Muhammad, Ellyse Perry and Shabnim Ismail.
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