With the Indian Women’s team only scheduled to play one ODI series against New Zealand next year, questions have been raised as to the readiness of the Indian squad heading into the World Cup early next year. However, captain Mithali Raj dismissed any concerns, and felt that the Indian women were adequately prepared for the mega event next year.
She said that the team had “good preparation” in 2021, as they played South Africa at home in a five-match series before heading to England and Australia for a couple of three-game bilateral series.
Although they lost all three series, the Indian women can take solace in the fact that they stretched the Aussies to their limit in their 2-1 defeat, also ending their 26-game unbeaten run in Women’s ODIs. The Indians will face the Kiwis in a five-match ODI series in February 2022 ahead of the World Cup, scheduled to begin in March.
“Players have played domestic cricket and also in the Women’s Big Bash so they are getting game time which is the most important thing.
We have played the three best teams since March and it has given us good preparation.
We are getting to play in New Zealand before World Cup which is also good.”
Raj said when asked about the adequacy of their preparation for the World Cup.
The Indian Women’s team, who have had some issues with their batting in the not-so-distant past, particularly their middle order, did quite well in recent games, scoring in excess of 250 on more than one occasion, something that has not been a regular occurrence of late.
But Raj felt that it was unfair to blame just the middle order, given that the entire batting lineup bats as a single unit.
There are times when the top order failed and the others performed. As a unit, if we look to post a good total then it will help.
If we focus on one area like middle order then it becomes too much of a burden for that particular slot.
We bat as a unit so you can’t pinpoint one area”
Raj remarked.
India did extremely well in the previous edition of the Women’s World Cup in 2017, reaching the finals of the event, where they suffered a heartbreaking loss despite controlling most of the match. Such being the case, expectations will definitely be higher this time around.
“There were not enough expectations back then,” Raj said. “Now in 2021, players have got experience and got a lot of exposure with the T20 leagues. Every match will be different there. The quicker we read our opponents the better it will be for us. We have young players but they have got enough exposure. It is just of matter of gelling well as a team.”
she added.
India face New Zealand in a five-match ODI series starting February 11 as they look to fine-tune their game ahead of the all-important Women’s World Cup, set to begin on March 4.
