2021 World Cup Qualification comes as welcome news amidst coronavirus crisis, feels Mithali Raj

The ICC Technical Committee has cited it as a Force Majeure event and that cleared the deck for the Indian team to the New Zealand World Cup. The decision pleased Mithali to no end, who stated that the qualification for the 50-Over World Cup should ease a lot of pressure on the players. 

“In that context, this is welcome news amidst the crisis because of the COVID-19 that is threatening the entire world. Definitely, this is good news even though we are not sure when the conditions will improve and when any sporting activity resumes. Now, with the issue of World Cup settled, we can plan in a much better way the preparations as there will be enough time even if the situation improves, hopefully, by August this year,” Mithali told Sportstar.

“Of course, a lot depends on the kind of international schedule women’s cricket can afford in the run-up to the World Cup. But, by all means, with India qualifying for the event, the focus can shift to other equally important subjects like planning to realise that one big dream - win the World Cup. Obviously, the focus now cannot be on competitions but on the resumption of minimum training sessions,” she says.