Mithali Raj is looking forward to working with Ramesh Powar on the upcoming England and Australia tours. India’s ODI and Test captain Mithali Raj has been with the team since 1999. The leadership role came to her in 2003 and since then she has led the team admirably guiding the youngsters and working with seniors.
During her 20-year long career, Mithali Raj has seen a lot of ups and downs in her glorious cricketing journey. The highs of being runners-up in the 2005 and 2017 World Cup and the lows of India’s 2018 exit in the ICC T20 World Cup. During the 2018 T20 World Cup semi-final match, the 36-year-old veteran was dropped from the team against England which India went onto lose.
Mithali Raj Said The Past Is Gone And Hopes Newly-appointed Coach Ramesh Powar Will Come Up With Plans
The match is remembered for the Mithali Raj and Ramesh Powar spat which turned ugly when the two wrote individual letters to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials about what happened between the two. Few months went by, and Ramesh Powar lost his job to WV Raman.
Two years later the tide has turned and Ramesh Powar is again back as the head coach and Mithali Raj stated that she is looking forward to working with him ahead of India’s tour to England.
“The past is gone by. You cannot go back. I am sure he (Ramesh Powar) will come up with plans and we together will steer the ship,” Mithali told The Hindu. “We will work in tandem and build a very strong team for the future, especially with the World Cup scheduled next year.”
During WV Raman’s tenure, India managed to reach the finals of the T20 World Cup 2020. Ramesh Powar had represented India in 2 Tests and 31 ODIs. He had earlier served as the head coach of the Indian Women’s Team from July-November 2018. It was under his stint that the Indian eves qualified for the semi-final of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in 2018. Besides, they also won 14 T20I games in a row.
Mithali Raj: India Women Should Have Continuity In Playing Test Matches
India will start their all-format England tour on June 16 with a Test match, a format which they last featured in 2014 against the same opponents in Wormsely. Mithali loves the purest format and is excited to play after seven years.
“For all the youngsters in the team, and even for someone like me who played a Test match seven years ago, there is no baggage to carry. We have not played the format for such a long time and hence can play with an open mind,” said Mithali.
After their tour of England, India will travel Down Under to play a pink-ball Test against Australia. Mithali Raj stressed that the women’s team should get to play more Test matches going forward.
“It is good to see that this Test will be followed by a pink-ball Test in Australia later this year. My personal opinion is that we should have continuity in playing Test matches.”
The One-off Test against England kickstarts on June 16 in Bristol followed by a 3-match ODI series which starts from June 27. After the conclusion of the ODIs, the Indian eves will lock horns with the English hosts in a 3-match T20I rubber under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur.
India’s Senior Women squad for Test & ODI:
Mithali Raj (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Priya Punia, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav.
India’s Senior Women squad for T20I:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain) Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Indrani Roy (wicket-keeper), Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Simran Dil Bahadur.