India women cricketers need to work on their skills, believes WV Raman
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After the 3-0 drubbing against the England women's cricket team in the T20I series, Indian coach WV Raman has underlined the fact that the girls have to work hard on their skills. He has also revealed that the team wanted Mithali Raj to bat at no. 4 to strengthen the middle order.
India had a wonderful run in the ODI series as they won against England 2-1 but soon after that, the visitors clean swept the series in the shortest format of the game. India, eyeing a consolation win in the last T20I in Guwahati, failed to score just three runs in the last over while scoring 120 in 20 overs. Â
After the loss, Raman has spoken about the lack of technical acumen of the women cricketers and the need for working on the skills of the players.
"Basically, first they need to work a lot on their skills," coach Raman told the media in Guwahati, reported PTI.
"Once the development in terms of skills
For the Indian team, Raj came out to bat in the middle order in all the matches and she also played a good role in the run-chase in the last match. Raj scored 7, 20 and 30* batting at No. 4 in the recently-concluded series against England. The coach has made it clear after the series that he wanted to strengthen the middle order as Harmanpreet Kaur had to stay out because of an injury.Â
"We had a chat about what is she comfortable doing and what suits the side as well. Since Harman (Harmanpreet Kaur) was not here, we needed someone with experience in the middle order. That's the reason she stuck to her slot of number four," Raman said about Mithali's batting position.
"Quite obviously, she also needs to be backed up by others. Unfortunately, that kind of support did not come. It is all a case of what a specific player can bring to the table and how it suits the team's need. That's how things will happen."
When asked about the future of womenâs cricket in India, the former India batsman replied, "It is just that the newcomers need to get a little bit of experience to know what to do under a little bit of pressure and challenge. Once that improves, I think it will be a very good situation for us in the future."
"So I am not totally either sulking or mourning about it. From here on, the only way is up. That is the way I would look at it."
