Lack of practice a worry for Indian teams

Test cricket offers a different kind of pressure and two Indian teams will soon be part of cricket’s bio-bubble that will engulf their existence in the coming months. The Indian men’s cricket team are to embark on their onward journey to England in the first week of June to play the first ever International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship Final that is stated to be played in Southampton on June 18 against New Zealand.

They will be joined, in the Old Blighty, by their women counterparts who will lock horns with England, two days earlier in a one-off Test match at Bristol on June 16. The preparations, for both tours are purely mental considering the vagaries of the dreaded pandemic whose second innings has left a sorry tale in India. While the 20 picked in the men’s squad are going through the long distance motions prescribed by the Indian support squad even as they are getting out of the hangover caused by the truncated Indian Premier League (IPL), the members of the women’s squad have yet to be picked.

For the women who will be playing a Test match for their country a little after six years — they last played in Mysore against South Africa in November 2014 — this is an opportunity they’re certainly looking forward to being a part of.

Considering that two of India’s senior-most women cricketers, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, have played only 10 Test matches each since they made their Test debuts against England in 2002, the Bristol game assumes a lot of significance.

The biggest worry that the two squads (men and women) will have is the lack of proper match practice. For the Virat Kohliled team, their Test series victory against Joe Root’s Englishmen earlier this year will give them a semblance of confidence, not to forget their recent forays while playing the IPL. The women’s squad, however, will have loads of work to do considering their series losses (One Day and Twenty20) to South Africa a few months ago.

The series, held in Lucknow should be considered more as a warm up since the Indian eves didn’t really get a chance to shake off the rust accumulated by the forced lockdown.

For the ladies, the England tour is a comeback for sorts as they will be playing three One Day and Twenty20 matches apart from the sole Test match at Bristol. The good news, and one so much needed for Indian women’s cricket is that that Board of Control for

Cricket in India (BCCI) have given their go ahead for Indian women to participate in the much awaited ‘The Hundred’ in England. Teen sensation Shafali Varma, top of the

T20 ranks, will join four of her teammates in the 100ball gala this July.

Win or lose, this summer is going to be very special for Indian women cricketers.

The BCCI in its able judgement have shown that they are more than happy to promote the game amongst the ladies by giving them more international opportunities. Just like the men, women’s cricket too will fulfill the potential it has shown with remarkable talent cropping up from nooks and corners of India.

For now, it’s one step at a time!