India women's team skipper Mithali Raj, in an interview with the Hindu, expressed her views on India's future in women's cricket. The veteran believes India has a vivid future and they are capable of proving it in the upcoming Women's World T20.
India women's team showed a scintillating performance in South Africa. They defeated the hosts in both ODI and T20I series by 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.
“The fact that we completed a highly creditable ‘double’ under challenging conditions in South Africa is a reminder of how well we were prepared for the tour. I think the short duration camp in Mumbai before we left for South Africa helped us a lot,” she said.
“I think it was great to see the girls do so well in conditions which were challenging for batters and spinners on pitches that were fast and had bounce,” said the 35-year-old. “The twin-series triumph has done a world of good to the team’s confidence. We always knew we are a very good one-day team. And, the T20 series performance with convincing wins is something commendable.”
She is happy that team isn't dependable on one or two players. Every player knows their role and that's the biggest positive of the recently concluded South Africa tour.
“The biggest positives of the tour was we just didn’t rely on one or two players. Everyone contributed. I was impressed with the way we handled the middle-overs after the pacers had given the early breakthroughs. Smrithi (Mandana) gave us good starts and when it was not so, the middle-order clicked. This is a welcome sight. I hope to see at least five to six match-winners in the team.”
“The future of Indian women’s cricket looks good. The T20 World Cup this October should be the perfect stage to serve a reminder of our growing stature. But, it is important to play many matches,” she added.
Raj was the highest run scorer in T20I series against South Africa. “I am happy with my performances, especially finishing the T20 series on a high. Overall, maybe, I could have done much better in the ODIs. Right now, I am enjoying my game and have no immediate thoughts on anything else other than cricket.”
