Photo Credit: Cricket Canada
Cricket Canada’s Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Durriya Shabbir as Canadian cricket’s Women’s Coordinator. Ms. Shabbir was chosen from the pool of applicants for the position that was created by the Board this past July. Her appointment will last until Cricket Canada’s next Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled to be held in May, 2021.
As Cricket Canada’s newly appointed Women’s Cricket Coordinator, Ms. Shabbir will be directly responsible for growing all aspects of female cricket in Canada through further promotion, the engagement of provincial associations and clubs, as well as the development of gender specific programmes aimed at increasing the numbers of active women’s players, coaches and officials. In fulfillment of her duties Ms. Shabbir will attend Cricket Canada Board meetings, convene and chair a Women’s Cricket Committee and will also serve on other appropriate committees to represent the interests of women’s cricket.
Born in Madras, India, Durriya Shabbir competed at National, Zone (South Zone), State (Tamil Nadu Seniors, Juniors, and Sub-Juniors), and University (University of Madras) levels, with consistent performances as an opening bowler and middle order batter. Following her immigration she later represented Canada as a right-handed medium pace bowler and middle order batter. She played a key role in Canada’s qualification during the 2013 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier after scoring 153 runs in the ICC Americas Qualifier tournament. After her retirement from the international arena, Durriya continued her active participation in domestic cricket for several years as a player in the Scarborough Cricket Association’s (SCA) Women’s League. As an administrator Durriya initiated and launched Cricket Council of Ontario’s Women’s Program by organizing the formation of the First Ontario Women’s Team. Durriya also co-created the July 2018 Canada Day Women’s Cup Tournament to provide a National stage for women cricketers in order to resurrect women’s cricket in all provinces and break down barriers hindering the growth of the game. She also served as the Manager for the Canadian Women’s Team’s participation in the 2019 ICC America’s Cup.
Commenting on the appointment, Cricket Canada President Rashpal Bajwa has expressed his and the Board of Directors absolute confidence that Durriya Shabbir’s outstanding experience, as a former Canadian National player, in addition to her years of active involvement in all aspects of Canadian cricket will allow her to successfully fulfill all the responsibilities of the position.
