The future of Indian women’s cricket looks good, says Mithali Raj

Praising her side after rare double series triumph, Mithali Raj believes that the future of Indian women’s cricket is bright and that the T20 World Cup would be the perfect stage to prove it.

In an interview to the Hindu, the women’s cricket captain said that their performance in South Africa was a reminder of how well prepared as a team they were.

“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.”

Speaking on the positives of the tournament, the highest run-getter in women’s cricket said, “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.

“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.”

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