Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj confident of good show in England

Photo By DNA

A pre-departure media conference of the men's Indian cricket team heading for a big tour usually sees a packed conference room. Journalists hang around to get their exclusive bytes from the time players arrive in their HOTEL  till they depart.

However, the attention that the women's team get is not the same. On Sunday, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India called a pre departure presser for Indian women's tour of England at its conference room, only a few turned up.

Undeterred by the lack of attention, Mithali Raj, the skipper of the Indian team, is confident that the team will do well in England. "It is always like that. If you win, everybody follows you. Beating England in England will be a big achievement. The last time we went there (in 2012), we came close to doing it but lost the series (5-game ODI rubber) after taking a 2-0 lead," said Raj.

The last time Indian women's team played a Test was eight years back when they toured England, where they emerged the winner, winning the two-match series 1-0.

"Only three of us - myself, Jhulan Goswami and Karuna Jain - had played the last Test in 2006. I feel it's easier to adapt from playing the longer version of the game to the ODIs and T20s. Our team is inexperienced in Tests but experienced in ODIs. This opporunity (one-off Test) will benefit the youngsters in the team," said the 31-year-old.

Raj, who prefers playing one-dayers, said the ultimate challenge for them is Test cricket. "We play more one-day games, hence I enjoy playing one-dayers. But there is nothing like earning a Test cap, which is an ultimate challenge. We want to play more matches -- Whether it's Tests, ODIs or T20s. That's all," said the skipper.

The Indian women's have had their preparation camp in Bangalore, where they played a practice game against KSCA U-19 boys. They are also keenly following the men's Test matches in England. "I am sure the girls were following it during the camp. There were a few discussions too. Players who are new will read the conditions and how it is played there, for batters how it is going to seam and swing while the bowlers will see the field placements. The experienced players will have their own plans," Raj added.

Squad: Mithali Raj (C), Karuna Jain (VC), Smriti Mandhana, MD Thirushkamini, PunamRaut, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jhulan Goswamim, Niranjana N, Shubhlakshmi Sharma,Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Swagathika Rath, Vanitha VR, SushmaVerma, Coach: Sudha Shah

Itinerary:

1st Test: Aug 13-16 at Wormsley CG
1st ODI: Aug 21 at Scarborough CC
2nd ODI: Aug 23 at Scarborough CC
3rd ODI: Aug 25 at Lord's Cricket Ground

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