LAHORE: The Pakistan women’s cricket team are ready to be more than passengers when they open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against India at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Group A is formidable on paper. South Africa (17 June), Bangladesh (20 June), Australia (23 June) and the Netherlands (27 June) await in the remaining four matches, with only the top two advancing to the semi-finals. Few will give Pakistan a realistic chance of reaching the last four for the first time in 10 attempts — particularly after a difficult tour of Ireland and warm-up defeats to Sri Lanka and Scotland.

Yet strip away the noise and look at the cold, hard numbers, and a different picture begins to emerge.

Pakistan have beaten every side in this group in T20 international cricket — every side bar one. Australia, six-time champions and the one team no one pretends Pakistan can dismiss lightly, are the sole exception.

Against the rest, the record speaks for itself.

Pakistan have twice beaten India at T20 World Cups — in Galle in 2012 and in Delhi in 2016. They have defeated South Africa 12 times in 27 matches, including as recently as February in Benoni. They lead Bangladesh 16-4 on head-to-head. And while their only meeting with the Netherlands came 15 years ago — in a quadrangular series final in Colombo — they won that one too.

The evidence is there. If Pakistan trust their abilities, convert their half-chances, seize their opportunities and handle the pressure of a global stage with composure, they are more than capable of springing surprises. Depending on how other group matches unfold, they may yet find a way into the top two.

That said, Pakistan remain clear underdogs and will need a fair measure of luck over the coming three weeks to make history. The immediate objective must be to remain competitive, to push every opponent hard, and to leave this tournament having earned the reputation of an improved and dangerous side.

That reputation matters, because the T20 World Cup has not been a kind stage for Pakistan women’s cricket. In nine editions since the inaugural tournament in England and Wales in 2009, they have won just nine of 26 matches and have never progressed beyond the group stage — a record that, uncomfortable as it is, still flatters when set against their 50-over World Cup history, where three victories in 37 matches across six appearances tells its own story.

The recent past offers little more comfort.

Pakistan have won one match in each of the last four editions — West Indies 2018, Australia 2020, South Africa 2023 and the UAE 2024. Their finest hour, however, remains the 2016 tournament in India, where under Sana Mir they defeated India by two runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and Bangladesh by nine wickets — a benchmark this squad must now aim to surpass. (In 2014, Pakistan also won two matches, but the second against Sri Lanka was for the seventh place play-off).

Beat South Africa and the Netherlands along with Bangladesh, and history beckons.

Fatima Sana will be the player to watch — and the player opponents will fear most. She has been in devastating form, blazing a 41-ball 90 against South Africa in Potchefstroom before setting a record with a 15-ball half-century against Zimbabwe in Karachi. When she fires, Pakistan fire.

Around her is a core of battle-hardened campaigners.

Muneeba Ali brings the rare distinction of two T20I centuries to the top of the order, alongside Ayesha Zafar, who was in fine touch against Zimbabwe. Gull Feroza offers explosive intent with a strike-rate exceeding 100 across 27 matches. Aliya Riaz brings the composure of 110 T20Is, whilst Diana Baig — 57 matches in — leads with experience and nous from the bowling crease. In the spin department, Nashra Sandhu, ranked ninth in the world with 74 wickets in 77 matches, and Sadia Iqbal, the world’s second-ranked spinner with 73 wickets in 59 matches, give Pakistan one of the most potent bowling combinations in the group.

If that experienced core delivers, a promising generation waits in the wings.

Eyman Fatima has shown the temperament to match her talent, Saira Jabeen brings pace and purpose, and Rameen Shamim, Tasmia Rubab and Tuba Hassan have the skill and the hunger to make telling contributions when the moments demand it.

One final thought. Whatever unfolds over the next three weeks, Pakistan are already guaranteed a place at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2028 — to be held on home soil, in front of their own crowds, under their own skies. That security lifts a weight from these players’ shoulders. And a side that plays without fear, on the biggest stage, can be a very dangerous thing indeed.

Go on, Pakistan. Make history.