The Indian women’s cricket team suffered a car crash at the hands of Australia in the three-match ODI series. They were bowled out for 100 in one game and ended up giving 371 runs in another as the former India captain blasted the side suggesting something needs to change.
Former India captain Diana Edulji came down heavily on the women’s team after their borderline no-show against Australia in the three-match ODI series. Edulji slammed the fitness of the players while suggesting that all might not be well between the captain, coach and players. After being 2-0 down, the performance improved from the bowlers in the series finale for India with vice-captain Smriti Mandhana smashing a century and pacer Arundhati Reddy picking up a four-fer. However, it was a practically no-show from the others as India were subjected to a 3-0 series defeat.
“Either they are not training properly or the fitness levels are zero, and that is showing in their fielding and catching,” Edulji told Mid-day. The 68-year-old mentioned that the BCCI is doing everything in its might to promote the game and now the team has to convert all that into performance and results.
“We have to [play lower ranked teams]. We are not going into any confidence-boosting. Now you’ve got the West Indies team coming here. I don’t know how this scheduling is done. The BCCI is talking about pay parity. They are doing everything for women’s cricket.
“I think our players should not be allowed to play WBBL in Australia and The Hundred in England. They should go into fitness camps instead. The WBBL is not going to get affected if you don’t send your players. Everybody will come to India to play because of the money [in the WPL in any case]. So, that’s not a worry at all.
“It’s absolutely disappointing. I don’t think the coach, captain and players are on the same page. They just don’t seem to be gelling. There is too much chopping and changing of the playing XI all the time. The batting order is not settled. Richa Ghosh is not an opening bat. Why are you ruining her?” Edulji added.
India won the home series against New Zealand but this was an abject surrender of monumental proportions and with the ODI World Cup scheduled to take place next year, the Women in Blue need to pull their socks up. The upcoming series against the West Indies and Ireland might serve as a good preparation but from a confidence point of view, India need results.
