Unveiling Jazbaa

Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Cricket Book of the Year 2023 Jazbaa - Definition: spirit, feeling, passion, desire, sentiment, emotion In 1996, Shaiza Khan led a Pakistan team on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. While the tour was a failure on the cricketing front, the singular act of eleven women wearing flannels and battling for victory in the faraway antipodes was a significant achievement. These women had – individually and collectively – worked to throw off the shackles of social and cultural decrees that had conspired to keep Pakistani women away from sport for years. Even more importantly, these players were harbingers of change who became heroic role models for women back home and all around the world. Unveiling Jazbaa tells the story of Pakistan's women's cricket, detailing the extraordinary journey the players have been on to bring about change both in their country and in the sport itself. This is a tale told through the lens of society and politics, of personal battles and triumphs against the odds, of friendships and rivalries, of favours and revenge. Above all else, it is story of bravery and unerring will and a moving testimony to power of the human spirit. Foreword by Kamila Shamsie 'Compelling, ambitious, beautifully written and about so much more than cricket' – Tim Wigmore, The Telegraph and author of the multiple award-winning emCricket 2.0