India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana said that she has got her rhythm back but wants to be more selfish to be a more consistent batter going into the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
Mandhana has established herself as one of the leading batters in women's cricket, but she still feels sure there is scope for improvement.
The 25-year-old had a poor home series against South Africa, which marked the Indian team's return to international cricket post-COVID break, though she found her rhythm on tours of England and Australia.
She had a fruitful outing in the recent Women’s Big Bash League 2021 (WBBL) for Sydney Thunder in Australia. The elegant batter amassed 377 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 134 in WBBL 2021.
Mandhana told PTI: “Post Covid, it was hard to get the rhythm back as I was playing international cricket after one and a half years. It took a while to get into the groove but the last two series have been decent but surely there is scope for improvement. I am really happy with the way I have been timing the ball. I am sure the team has also learnt a lot in the last one year which will help us go forward.”
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She continued, “Post COVID, I had to work hard on getting my rhythm back. It was getting tough playing back-to-back matches but we've played a lot in the last six months and that's a good sign. The body also feels prepared (after plenty of game time).
As a batter, you have to be selfish to be more consistent and that's something I want to work on, closing games on a regular basis especially the tight finishes. It is something which we all know that we need to work on as that is going to help us in the World Cup.”
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team have lost the ODI series to South Africa, England, and Australia this year, but Mandhana believes that the side has got the best possible preparation for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2022 to be held in March-April in New Zealand.
Mandhana said, “The last year has been really important for us and especially playing in England and Australia. We are also playing New Zealand, so playing the top three-four teams in a space of seven-eight months, that is the best preparation for the World Cup. We have learnt a lot in the last two series.”
She signed off by saying, “Though we lost the three series, they served as good preparation for us to go into the World Cup. We were able to score 250 plus in two out of three games. Will take all the positives from that. I also learnt a lot in Australia.”
(With PTI Inputs)
