Diana Edulji: Hope India eves Asia Cup win spurs team for 2017 World Cup

Diana Edulji

Diana Edulji

As much as she was delighted with India's triumph in the sixth T20 Asia Cup at Bangkok where they beat arch-rivals Pakistan, former India women's cricket captain Diana Edulji wants the team to plug the grey areas in order to win the 50-50 World Cup.

"I am happy we maintained our hold on the Asia Cup. I hope this win will spur them to do better in next year's World Cup. It's good to see them beating Pakistan. We shouldn't have lost to them in the T20 World Cup (March 2016) in Delhi," Edulji told mid-day yesterday.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led outfit triumphed by 17 runs at the Asian Institute of Technology ground in Bangkok, where Mithali Raj won the player of the match and series awards. Her unbeaten 73 in 65 balls guided India to 121 for five in 20 overs before Pakistan were restricted to 104 for 6.

Edulji added: "From what I saw in this game and the match in Delhi, the Pakistani spinners were a bit slow but except for Mithali, we didn't display impressive footwork. That is why the batswomen were going for the sweep shot. This is something the coaching staff has to think about."

Edulji warned the Indians about the stiff challenge they will face in the July 2017 World Cup. "England, Australia and New Zealand are far superior teams. It's high time we got a post mortem done and not sit on our laurels. We must now straightaway focus on the 50-overs World Cup and think about the batting department. We need at least one or two better batswomen, who can support Mithali and Harmanpreet," she said.

Edulji also felt India's new skipper should bat higher up. "Harmanpreet should come in at No. 4. I don't think she should sacrifice her game for anyone and she should be more proactive as an all-rounder. She is restricting herself to bowling only one or two overs. She should not let captaincy affect her decision-making. She can be a leading all-rounder," said Edulji.7