New Delhi: After winning a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Indian Women’s Cricket Team is set to go on a tour in England. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur addressed the media before the tour and talked about the game plan and Jhulan Goswami’s farewell. Jhulan Goswami will be playing her final ODI on this tour.
Talking about bidding farewell to the legendary pacer, Harmanpreet said, “When I debuted, she was the captain and it is a great opportunity for me to lead the last ODI she plays. We will be trying to create some great moments for her so that she can take back good memories from it. We are trying to make the occasion feel special and it is an opportunity for all of us to play with her.” She added that no one could replace her in the team and she works hard in training as she used to do when she was young.
Talking about Jhulan’s passion for the game, the captain said that she bowls two-three hours which nobody does. She added, “I was lucky to have such a senior from whom I could learn a lot.”
Talking about the game plan, she advocated the six-batter strategy and shed some light on Kiran Prabhu Navgire’s maiden call-up and Dayalan Hemalatha’s return to the squad. She said, “I feel, no matter whatever format you are playing, you need to have six batters in the side. Having two-three pure bowlers and two-three all-rounders can give you a great balance to the side.”
Navgire has scored 525 runs, including a record 162* in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy. Meanwhile, Hemalatha scored 272 runs for the Railways and provided stability to the middle order with her good finishing abilities. Harmanpreet said, “I was impressed with the way KP batted in the Women’s T20 Challenge and (we will see) if we can work on those players who have the skills.”
Richa Ghosh has returned to the T20I squad and Yastika Bhatia will play as the wicketkeeper in the ODIs, while Taniya Bhatia is part of both the squads. Talking about this shuffling of keepers, the captain said that the team needs someone who can bat long in the ODIs while in T20I the requirement is to start quickly.
India will play 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs against England starting from September 10. The third ODI will mark the retirement of Jhulan Goswami from international cricket.
ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain), Shafali Verma, Sabbineni Meghana, Deepti Sharma, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Simran Dil Bahadur, Jhulan Goswami, Jemimah Rodrigues
T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sneh Rana, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Radha Yadav, Sabbineni Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Dayalan Hemalatha, Simran Dil Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (WK), K.P. Navgire
