India's chances in T20 WC will be largely dependent on top-order: Mithali Raj

Former skipper Mithali Raj feels Indias chances of winning the Womens T20 World Cup will depend largely on the top orders formThe legendary batter added that the Indian bowlers will have to show a marked improvement in testing conditions at the marquee event beginning on Friday in South AfricaIndias chances will be largely dependent on the top order Smriti Mandhana is playing well and is a match winner Mithali wrote in her column for the ICCHarmanpreet Kaur has looked in good form too but we have to beat Australia and England you need others batters to come to the partyThe Indian team which takes on Pakistan in their tournament opener on February 12 in Cape Town have been playing in South AfricaThe Indian team which recently finished runners up in a Tri series against hosts South Africa and West Indies will be fielding a relatively inexperienced pace unit barring veteran Shikha PandeyThe bowling will be tested and that is where we need to see an improvement Mithali addedThe 40yearold hopes the U19 World Cupwinning duo of Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh make use of the knowledge that they have gained while playing the age group tournament on these conditionsAlso readHarmanpreet Kaur joins forces with leading sports brand as brand ambassadorI hope Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh also have a good run at the World Cup considering they have gained so much experience of the conditions in South AfricaI am excited about some of the young players coming through and there is definitely some talent in the Under19s team which I had the chance to see play at the inaugural ICC Under19s Womens T20 World CupAustralia favourites to winMithali opined defending champions Australias excellent batting department make them favourites to win the event for an unprecedented sixth timeI think everyone would agree that Australia are the favourites and deservedly so I am expecting tight competitive matchesThey are so difficult to beat because they bat deep and have an excellent batting lineupThere are not many teams who can rival them in terms of big hitters and the fact they have numerous players who can play a similar role means that if one fails others can step inHowever Mithali feels India have a knack of producing their best against AustraliaWe saw recently that when they toured India although that was a very competitive series but when it came down to it more often than not it was Australia who came out on topWhile Australia are definitely favourites we have seen India and England play some of their best cricket in the knockout stages of tournaments so I would not write them offIndia also have the knack of bringing their best against AustraliaWPLThe inaugural Womens Premier League WPL will be played this year with the auction slated to be held on February 13 in MumbaiMithali who made significant contributions in popularising the womens game during her 23year long glorious career feels franchise cricket will not only help the players become financially secure but also enable them to invest in their gameWhat is great at this moment is that the womens game is constantly evolving Where 140 used to be a par score in a T20 now you can see 160180 plus chased down and so many matches go down to the wireThat change has come down to the increase of leagues all over the world with the WBBL in Australia the Super League in England and of course the Womens Premier League in India which is going to start this yearThose platforms not only give local players the chance to interact with overseas stars but they also offer better financial stability which allows them to invest in their own games hiring personal coaches or strength and conditioning coachesWhile Mithali who retired last year will not be playing in the league she has been roped in as a mentor and advisor by Gujarat GiantsI am not surprised at all that we have got to this point the Womens Premier League in India is a huge developmentWhile I will not be playing I will be fortunate enough to serve as a mentor and advisor for the Gujarat GiantsThere is no disappointment about the fact that I missed out on playing in it my journey as a cricketer was different and I was able to play my part in the evolution of the sportShe hopes the league will help in player developmentI am very happy to see womens cricket get to where it is and excited to be part of the ecosystemI am really hoping that the WPL will also help with player development We have seen at the Under19 World Cup how much young talent there is around the world and how players are already benefiting from the number of televised matches and the chance to play alongside big names in domestic cricketThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever