Kolkata: Indian women’s cricket team captain, Mithali Raj said that she wants to use the World Cup Qualifiers being held in Sri Lanka right now as preparation for the Women’s World Cup, even though the conditions in Colombo will be much different to England and Wales. The team has already suffered a major setback losing out on the six foot seamer, Jhulan Goswami and young gun, Sukanya Parida to injuries just a few days prior to the start of the tournament that will be played between February 7 and 21 in Sri Lanka.
Their replacements have come in the form of Soni Yadav and Mansi Joshi, both of whom are yet to make their One-Day International debuts, in stark contrast to the seasoned veteran Jhulan Goswami. Mithali Raj though saw this as a chance for the new faces to make their mark on what is arguably the biggest cricketing stage in women’s cricket.
Raj stressed upon how the World Cup Qualifiers were obviously very important as they will help teams to earn a place in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 as well as the ICC Women’s Championship.
The skipper also talked about how the side was preparing for conditions in Sri Lanka, where slower bowlers will be assisted. “We are preparing for the slower wickets in Sri Lanka, which are likely to assist spinners. Our spinners have done well against the West Indies on the slower pitches during a recent home series, so they will be playing a major role in Colombo. I feel they will have to play a role in the United Kingdom as well, even if the pitches are not helping turn, provided we work on tactical plans.”
The Captain views the qualifiers to be the perfect platform to experiment with permutations and combinations, given that there are some new faces in her squad. “Our objective is to try out a few combinations and settle down. We want to get into the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 as a settled batting unit because then we will have the confidence to win matches” said Mithali.
The Indian skipper insisted that they have played all the Asian countries and that the surprise package will most likely be Zimbabwe and thus will be cautious so as to ensure that there is no upset.
“We have also not played Ireland in recent times and will not be experimenting against these teams,” she said. “As for South Africa, they have done well in Australia and Bangladesh and we have lost a one-day series to them at home. They are the ones likely to give us competition and we have to be prepared for that.”
While all qualifiers for the Super Sixes stage at the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 will gain ODI status for the next four years, the top four will qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 in England and Wales from June 24 to July 23, as well as the next ICC Women’s Championship.
(with inputs from ICC media release and Hindustan Times)