India’s women cricketers’ life has changed for good after their valiant effort in the Women’s World Cup.
Not very long ago, the likes of Veda Krishnamurthy, Punam Raut, Sushma Verma were relatively unknown among the fans, but they have become household names after the Women in Blue defied all the odds to make it to the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup.
After qualifying for the main event by playing the qualifiers, Mithali Raj & Co. defeated the likes of England, New Zealand and Australia to make it to the final which they lost by 11 runs. The brilliant performance, nevertheless, has been lauded by one and all with recognition from all quarters.
From Cash rewards from the BCCI, various state governments to BMW cars, the women have been showered with prizes and praises. In fact, the ladies are so much in dealing with the newly-found stardom that they have not even managed to unpack their bags after returning from England around a month ago.
India’s inspirational skipper Mithali Raj revealed how her teammates have been enjoying the ‘attention they deserve’ before insisting that the players would get back to training in coming days.
“In the last three weeks, every day I’m in a different city attending two or three events. I haven’t even got time to properly unpack after getting home from England. The girls are all are enjoying the attention they deserve. At some point of time, we will get back to training and competitive cricket,” she told The Times of India.
The veteran batswoman further admitted that the warm reception and support despite losing the final have pleasantly surprised the cricketers.
“In London, all of us planned our holidays, and some of us were to go together. But now I don’t think we don’t have the time. We didn’t expect this kind of a reception and the acceptance of women’s cricket despite losing the final. People have been very positive. Wherever we go they have good things to say about women’s cricket. We’ve got such an amazing reception that I often wonder what it would have been like to come home as World champions. I’m sure it would have taken us to a different level,” she added.
While the women definitely adore the love and support, Mithali is under no illusion that the team will have to perform well in the future to build up on the World Cup success.
“From here on, whatever matches or tournaments we play internationally, it is important for the team to perform to the best of our ability.
“I’m glad I saw this phase of Indian women’s cricket while I’m still playing. I will continue to play as long as I’m in good form. Also, I want to groom youngsters. I’ve always told my dad, whenever I quit, I should leave a strong and formidable team and not when they are weak,” she said.
The 33-year old concluded by saying that she is currently focusing on the next year’s World T20 after the disastrous outing in the last edition of the tournament at home when they suffered a group-stage exit.
“If India reaches the top-two in rankings, then I’ll feel proud that I’ve got the team so far. I’m currently focusing on the World T20 next year, especially because we haven’t done well in that tournament before. The expectations will be high, and I believe it is important for me to be there for the girls and guide them through it,” she concluded.