Going early will help Indian women’s cricket team do well in South Africa: Mithali Raj | Cricket - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Going early will help Indian women’s cricket team do well in South Africa: Mithali Raj

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | By
Jan 23, 2018 11:29 PM IST

The Mithali Raj-led Indian women’s cricket team, which would be playing a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20 series, is flying to South Africa on Wednesday.

Indian men’s cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri admitted that ten more days of practice in South Africa, ahead of the Test series, would have benefitted his players. The Indian women’s cricket team seems to have learnt a lesson from the wrong call by Virat Kohli and Co. Mithali Raj and the team would reach South Africa well in advance for their limited-overs series starting at Kimberly on February 5.

Mumbai: India women's cricket team skipper Mithali Raj addresses media, ahead of the tour to South Africa for a bilateral T20 and ODI series, on Tuesday.(PTI)
Mumbai: India women's cricket team skipper Mithali Raj addresses media, ahead of the tour to South Africa for a bilateral T20 and ODI series, on Tuesday.(PTI)

The team, which would be playing a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20 series, is flying to South Africa on Wednesday.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Ahead of the squad’s departure, captain Mithali Raj and coach Tushar Arothe emphasized on the importance of going early.

“Going early in any condition helps. We had gone early to England too ahead of our World Cup campaign there. And it helped us a lot. When you reach early, you have time to acclimatise with conditions and also get used to the kind of bounce you normally don’t encounter in Asian conditions,” said Mithali on Tuesday.

“We are also expecting a lot of lateral movement because this is the first time when we would be playing with two new balls. We need to assess these things before taking to the field,” the 35-year-old added.

Coach Tushar Arothe expressed similar sentiments.

“Pitch condition is completely different in South Africa. It is important to prepare well. We will be playing a couple of practice games and it will help us do well,” he said.

Indian women’s cricket team has not played any international cricket since making it to the final of ICC Women’s World Cup last year, but Mithali believes her players are in the right shape to take up the challenge.

“Yes, we have not played international cricket for the last seven months but our players are in match mood. We had a week-long camp here (in Mumbai) and a couple of girls are coming from the Women’s Big Bash League. They look very agile and fit. Before the World Cup, we had played a lot of cricket so girls needed time to recover. Some of them had injuries too. The gap has helped them recover well,” she said.

The skipper, though, admitted the tour would not be easy for the players and they need to play out of their skins to beat the Proteas.

“South Africa is a very good side. They almost made it to the final at last year’s World Cup. It is going to be a big test for all of us,” she said.

Mithali and her team members also had an opportunity to interact with cricket great Sachin Tendulkar during their camp and his inputs, she believes, will help youngsters in particular during the tour.

“Sachin is a legend. Talking to him is always inspirational. He especially talked about how to deal with failure on cricket field. This was something that our young girls needed to understand as a player’s response to failures goes a long way in her overall development,” she said.

Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away!- Login Now!
Catch all the Latest RCB Unbox 2024 LIVE, Cricket News, Live Cricket Score and IPL 2024 Schedule, match updates along with Cricket Schedule, Purple Cap in IPL 2024, Orange Cap in IPL 2024 and other related updates on Hindustan Times Website and APPs
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On