04 June,2009 09:54 AM IST | | Anish Saha
Indian women's team off for the T20 world cup in England, says it's ready for cricket's youngest child
Indian women are ready for a taste of the T20 brand of cricket u2013 not as cheerleaders but players.
As the national women's cricket team gets ready to leave for England for the T20 Cricket World Cup today, they told reporters yesterday that they were ready to take on cricket's youngest child.
MiD DAY gets manager Diana Edulji, captain Jhulan Goswami, coach Sudha Shah and team member Reema Malhotra and to share their thoughts and concerns about the tournament.
Ready to play: The national women's cricket team at a press conference yesterday pic/Anish Saha
MiD DAY: This format is particularly new to the team. What are your expectations from this format?
Diana: It is a new format and is definitely fast and aggressive. The team has done well and practised hard for this format.
Jhulan: A lot can be learned from the new format. It is definitely more challenging and demanding. I prefer test cricket. more. In this format, one or two good or bad overs make all the difference.
What are the team's major strengths and weaknesses?
Sudha: I would say that fitness and fielding are the areas of weakness but they have managed to cover quite a bit while training under Paul Chapman, NCA strength & conditioning expert.
As for the strengths, we have exceptional all-rounders and a balance of skill and experience.
Diana: Taunton is a very lucky ground for us. The team is mentally very strong and the squad is flexible with all 14 players in the reckoning.
Reema: The players' positive frame of mind has always helped us in tight spots before.
Jhulan: The foreign players may be superior to us in terms of fitness and strength but we are technically advanced and have planned strategies. The team has worked hard and focused on every department.
Do you see serious competition from any other team in the tournament?
Sudha: No, all are pretty equal. The T20 format is very unpredictable, so we can't jump to any conclusions.
Jhulan: No, we are just going there to play the best of cricket. We want to deliver good cricket and take on all the challenges. Since this is a new format, we have to adjust to anything that might come our way. As for teams, all are competing with each other.
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How has the team planned and trained for the tournament?
Sudha: Well, we have worked on different combinations and have watched the IPL and learnt a lot from those games. The team has just slipped into the T20 format. We have worked on bowling, fielding and running.
Jhulan: We have focused on every department in our team and have trained hard with Chapman to improve our fitness levels. I'm very happy with the team's performance.
