Helping young talent emerge from pain of loss
MUMBAI:It wasn’t totally surprising that playing a World Cup final in front of over 86,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground left India overwhelmed against the formidable Australia on Sunday. Not even seasoned cricketers are immune to stage fright, let alone this young Indian women’s cricket team.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led outfit was the youngest of all teams at the Women’s T20 World Cup with 10 of the 15 players in the squad aged 23 or under. The average age of India’s playing eleven in the final was 23.9, which included three teenagers without counting 16-year-old Richa Ghosh, who came on as a concussion substitute. The Australian team’s average age was 26.4 with 20-year-old Georgia Wareham the youngest member of the eleven.
However, one major factor that cost India the final, inexperience, also gives the biggest hope for this current band of women that it can turn into a formidable force over the next fourfive years, a group that would have learnt valuable lessons from this tournament and developed further in skills and mindset.
“Definitely, I see India lifting an ICC trophy over the next few years,” Sulakshana Naik, former India woman cricketer (46 ODIs, 31 T20s, two Tests), said. “These young girls have shown they have enough potential and with some more experience they will be there. We just need to stay patient, invest fully in them and give them time to grow.”
That process of investment, Naik and former India women’s team coach Tushar Arothe say, involves playing as many international matches as possible against top sides like Australia and England, home and away. The more the likes of Shafali Verma (16), Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav (both 19), Taniya Bhatia (22) and Ghosh do that, the more they will fine-tune their game and learn to bat under pressure in crunch games.
“These youngsters need to be playing competitive cricket constantly against tough teams to boost and upgrade their skill level,” Arothe said.
“It will also help them get rid of the inferiority complex. If they keep playing sides like Australia, they will not feel daunted when they play big matches. They will learn a lot of things, not just in batting and bowling but also mindset and how to manage pressure.”
Biju George, former fielding coach of the women’s team, reckoned there has been a radical improvement in the team since 2017 and that there is no reason why the progress can’t be maintained. “Earlier, we used to play well only at home, but now we have started to win matches even in Australia, England and New Zealand. That has been a big difference,” he said.
Another factor that could prove decisive is not tinkering with the natural flair of the young brigade. Shafali, for example, can be taught to adapt as per the situation, but the foundation of her game—which is to play attacking shots—might be best left untouched.
“The likes of Shafali, Jemimah, Richa, etc., they’re there because of their talent and people are looking at them as the future of Indian cricket. I would not want to change somebody’s natural talent. Today, Shafali can hit the first ball for six. Maybe two years down the line, she will be watchful initially when the ball is doing something. So, her temperament will improve, and that will only come with experience and maturity,” Naik, a former wicketkeeperbatsman, said.
One aspect that needs lot of attention going forward is strength conditioning, said Arothe. “Overall, fitness and agility needs to improve, and that is up to each individual. Teams like Australia, England and West Indies play on power. Our technique and natural talent is way superior to them, but they compensate it with their power. We need to work on that to become world beaters,” he said.
He is confident this young team can wear the tag of world beaters in a few years, be it in the 20-overs or 50-overs formats. “This team has the potential to win a World Cup. The ingredients are all there. They need to be positive and work hard towards it.”