The Indian women’s cricket team coach W.V. Raman is looking at various innovations to push the “girls” to take on the best in the world. One of the plans is to “tune their batting and mindset” to face fast bowling.
“We are going to have a fitness and training camp in June (at the National Cricket Academy). It is the first time women cricketers will have a dedicated camp for fitness and also match simulations,” Raman told The Hindu .
“I want them to play fast bowling (by practising against under-19 boys),” said Raman, who pointed out New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu, who works up speed of 120-plus. “They don’t get to play that speed in India. When they play overseas, the girls have to adjust to hard pitches, bounce and pace. I don’t think they would have faced a bowler like Tahuhu in domestic cricket.”
‘Imbalance’
Raman noted the “imbalance” when the team plays the two formats. “You get time to size up the attack in 50 overs but T20 does not give you that time. I want the girls to develop the courage to take on fast bowling on challenging pitches. It will take time but it will happen,” he was confident.
Having taken over the job recently, Raman said, “I have been seeing women’s cricket for some time even if I may not have followed it closely. I always felt they had the talent. They have the ability and can emerge a dominant force with sustained training. I am concentrating on trying to make them aware of their potential. They can go places.”
He did not appreciate comments about the standard of women’s cricket being rated average by some.
“Each is entitled to individual opinion. The girls have done extraordinarily well.
“They have things going for them now. I won’t compare them with women cricketers from overseas because there they play three to sport when at school. They have the advantage of being more athletic. The BCCI is doing a lot now to promote women’s cricket.”
‘Support’
Raman emphasised, “there is men’s cricket and there is women’s cricket. There is a James Bond movie. And there is a movie like Tootsie. Both are so different and yet both have dedicated following. Why compare? The game is the same for men and women.
“The pace might be different. Like tennis. Here, it is cricket at the end of the day. Let us support the girls.
“Test cricket needs a bigger pool to become a reality for women. But 50 overs and T20 is as good as you can hope for.”
