It’s been a year since the women’s cricket team has seen any action on the playing field. Now, the team will host visitors and begin the five-match one day international (ODI) series starting March 7, 2021, with Mithali Raj at the helm, and square off against South Africa’s Women's team.
Team India hasn’t played an international tournament since the final of the T20 World Cup 2020, which was incidentally played on International Women’s Day. Moreover, since November 2019, the team has been away from ODIs, since their 50-over match was against West Indies.
Raj, who will continue on as Captain during this World Cup, will be assisted by Harmanpreet Kaur, who will later take during the Twenty20 International (T20Is). But apart from Raj and Kaur, the focus this year will be on senior pacer Jhulan Goswami, opener Smriti Mandhana, and players Punam Raut and Deepti Sharma, among others.
In a statement to the Times of India (TOI) during a press conference, Kaur or Harry as she is fondly known, said, "It's been a long break for us, but sometimes things are not under your control. At last, we are getting some cricket now. So we'll make sure that we make good use of it,"
Kaur further added, “As a person, I have learnt a lot in these years. I have seen ups and downs. There have been times when I have played good cricket, sometimes outstanding, sometimes the form has been a bit here and there. But it's always important to be in the right frame of mind.”
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