New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) Former cricketer Reema Malhotra believes the Indian women’s cricket team is a strong contender to win the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, largely because of its strong spin bowling resources.
She said the team is brimming with confidence after winning last year’s ODI World Cup at home and is no longer dependent on one or two players.
The Women’s T20 World Cup will be held in England starting Friday, with the final scheduled for July 5.
“Winning the ODI World Cup has significantly boosted the team’s confidence. The players now believe they can perform in any conditions and in any format,” Malhotra told ‘PTI-Bhasha’. The former all-rounder, who represented India in 41 ODIs and 22 T20 Internationals, said spinners will
play a crucial English conditions.
“Players like Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav and Shree Charani will have very important roles. Shafali Verma can also contribute with the ball. The warm conditions are likely to assist spin bowling, and if India’s spin attack performs well, the team has the ability to lift the trophy,” Malhotra said.
Malhotra, however, did not give much importance to the relative lack of experience in India’s pace bowling unit.
While Renuka Singh Thakur, with 63 T20 Internationals, brings considerable experience, Kranti Goud and Nandini Sharma have played just 11 and three T20 matches.
“Renuka has the experience, and Kranti Goud has been consistently playing cricket at the highest level (WPL). Experience comes with opportunities and game time. The senior players in the squad can guide the younger bowlers,” Malhotra said.
After winning the ODI World Cup, India defeated Australia 2-1 in a T20I series on their backyard.
But the team suffered a 1-4 defeat in a five-match series in South Africa and lost 1-2 in a three-match series in England.
India later bounced back with a win over the West Indies in a warm-up match but suffered a narrow defeat against England on Wednesday.
The Indian batters struggled on tours of South Africa and England, but Malhotra believes experimenting with combinations before a major tournament is more important than immediate results.
“Before a World Cup, finding the right combination is more important than winning bilateral series. We tried several players on those tours. The objective was to provide match practice and build confidence ahead of the tournament,” she said.
According to Malhotra, India have no shortage of batting options.
“Apart from Richa Ghosh, the team also has Bharati Fulmali as a power-hitting option for the death overs. Yastika Bhatia provides an additional wicketkeeping option, while Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma bring immense batting experience.
“This team is no longer dependent on any one player,” she said.
Malhotra also expressed confidence that the opening pair of Mandhana and Shafali would regain form and provide solid starts in the tournament.
“Mandhana and Shafali will be extremely important for the team. Both have the ability to change the course of a match. If they provide strong starts and the spin attack delivers, India’s chances of winning the trophy will increase significantly,” she said.
India have been drawn in Group A alongside Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
Malhotra backed India and South Africa to progress from the group ahead of six-time champions Australia.
“India, South Africa, defending champions New Zealand and England are strong contenders to reach the semifinals,” she said.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on June 14. PTI AA SSC SSC
