India captain Mithali Raj spoke on an array of topics in a press conference ahead of the team’s ICC Women’s ODI World Cup opener against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
Raj reflected on the importance of Harmanpreet Kaur’s presence in the middle-order, saying it is good to see the senior batter back among runs just before the World Cup.
A matter of rhythm: Is Harmanpreet turning a corner just as World Cup beckons for India?
Shafali Verma has not been at her best in recent times, with just one fifty to show in the last few innings, but Raj backed the young opener to come good soon.
The India skipper said the vast experience of veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami will help the team during the World Cup. She also made it clear that the team management is looking to use Deepti Sharma as a pure all-rounder.
Here’s what Mithali had to say in the press conference on Saturday:
What did you make of the first match of the tournament and the Bay Oval conditions? Did you notice anything here that might have been different to the rest of your preparation in New Zealand?
I think to start it was a great opening game as it went till the wire. We were all watching it on television and yes, there have been a few takeaways with the conditions and the way the wicket behaved throughout the match and likewise, we’ve prepared ourselves for tomorrow’s game.
Talk to us about the journey through four ODI World Cups and what it means to be here with Jhulan Goswami again in your sixth and her fifth World Cup?
We’ve both been part of the dressing room for quite some time and enjoyed representing our country and have faced a lot of victories and defeats. It’s just great to have her with me playing this World Cup. Over the years she’s been the frontline bowler of India and delivered each time I’ve given her the ball. Her experience as a fast bowler will always be very helpful to the team and to the young speedsters in the side.
After two warm up games, how settled does the team feel in its plans?
Every World Cup game is very different – different locations, conditions, opponents. So yes, we’ve tried to give everybody a go in the warm-up games. So that everybody gets into a rhythm, and for tomorrow’s game I think all of them have been watching the first opening game and everybody has set plans. All we can take is confidence into the World Cup. It’s all about creating momentum and rhythm as players and as a unit.
Is Shafali’s shaky start a concern? Did you speak to her about her shot selection and batting overall?
It’s important that all of us have to get in with a clean slate from the past series or the warm-up games. All we can take is confidence and how you negotiate the conditions in the middle, how you play according to situations is just very important. And we’ve been seeing that even in today’s game. So I’m sure that Shafali being a very talented kid, she understands her own game and she will come through.
Will Deepti bat at No 3, followed by you at four and Harman at five?
Well, I’m sure you will get to see that tomorrow.
A lot has been spoken about Harmanpreet Kaur’s form, but in the last two matches she has made 63 and got 100, so what does it mean for your team that Harmanpreet is getting runs?
It is important, she is one of the core members of the side and her experience does matter in the middle. When she comes into the middle order, she tends to play with the tail as well because she comes in the middle overs and with the game that she has, it’s very important that you know she comes into form because we are looking at scoring very high in the top order. It’s good to see her among runs just before the tournament.
Have you identified what’s the biggest challenge for your team against Pakistan?
If you look at it, Pakistan is also a good side. I’m sure they’ve prepared very hard for the tournament. And so have we – we can’t take any team lightly so I wouldn’t say challenges but we will get into playing every game with a lot of intensity and with a lot of confidence.
It’s the first time you will be playing Pakistan in a 50-over game since the 2017 World Cup. How excited is the group about playing an opponent that you don’t get to play frequently? And have the preparations been any different or is there a sense of unknown going into the game?
As a team, we are excited to get into the World Cup and starting our campaign tomorrow. We’re not looking at Pakistan with all the hype, we’re looking at a team which has come prepared and we are equally prepared to put our best foot forward. We want to set momentum going into the tournament, so that’s how we look at our first game.
Are you expecting this to be a really high-scoring tournament? And how do bowlers figure in that sort of trend where you know we keep seeing the scoring rate go up?
The first game and even today watching England versus Australia, I think the wicket is definitely helpful to the batters but yeah 250 is something every team is looking to put up but it’s equally important to have a set batter playing throughout the innings because the wicket is a little on a slower side so it’s not something that a new batter can come in and straightaway get to scoring runs. Having said that, the bowlers can also use variations on these wickets. So it’s not completely a belter of a wicket I would say. To start off the tournament it is good that they’re posting totals above 250 but as the tournament goes on, I’m assuming that it might come down a little as the wickets tend to be used more.
Is everyone fit and available for tomorrow?
Yes, everybody is.
It’s been a really long build-up and there’s been a lot of chat around you and Jhulan getting to this tournament. How relieved are you considering all that to finally kind of be able to concentrate on the cricket?
When the tournament was postponed, we did have a bilateral series so our focus was definitely on preparing well for the tournament. It was more of doing well in those bilateral series and it’s good to now come closer to the tournament. So we are all excited. Jhulan and I are looking forward to putting up a good show.
Could you talk a bit about how Deepti Sharma has evolved as a key player? If you look back at her 2017 ODI World Cup campaign, she was one of India’s best performers. How have you seen her evolve over the past few years?
Deepti is a very mentally very strong player. This is my personal opinion about her. Because over the years from the time when she made her debut as a youngster, she has batted one down and two down, and has a record partnership with Poonam Raut as an opener. And from there, whenever we shuffled her in the batting order, she’s always come good in whatever position she has played. And she’s never complained about getting a slot higher up the order. But having said that, she’s the all-rounder in the side and a very important link in the composition of the playing XI. We’ve not really used her as a batter at the top, she’s been exceptionally good with her off spin. So in this tournament, we’re looking at using her as a pure all-rounder where she contributes up the order and with the bowling.
Where do you’ve see Deepti ranked among the all-rounders that we have at the moment? We have the likes of Sune Luus. Deepti is also amongst the top, would you agree with that?
Definitely yes, because each time she’s given an opportunity she has performed whether it is with the bat or with the ball.
In the World Cup as well, are you looking to send Richa Ghosh high up the order?
It’s something that we can look forward to during the tournament, but it all depends on how the team does because we can’t really talk about it right now even before playing our first game. She’s talented, she’s been getting us those runs, but it’s also important to give her a slot to settle down and then probably try out these things.
What’s been the message to the team from you as a captain ahead of a big tournament like this?
I think as a team, we need to get in with a clean slate as confident unit. Believe that we can always turn things around and play according to the situation. It’s very important to be in the present when you have a longer tournament. Be aware on the ground and play according to the situation.
Transcript courtesy: ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020
