Having missed out on the gold on the Commonwealth Games, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad is assured the Indian girls’s workforce can go the space on the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China subsequent month.
The Indian workforce got here near profitable the coveted gold on girls’s cricket’s Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham final 12 months however went right down to Australia within the summit conflict. It was the facet’s third defeat in a giant closing lately.
The ‘Women in Blue’ have gotten a direct qualification to the quarterfinals on the Asian Games based mostly on their ICC T20I rankings.
“Definitely, we will get the gold medal in the Asian Games,” Gayakwad informed PTI in an unique interview.
“We have played against all major opponents in the past, but not to dwell on that much, we have the trust in our team that we are capable of winning and clinching the gold medal,” she added.
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Gayakwad was not a part of India’s final project — the tour of Bangladesh the place they gained the T20I collection 2-1 however needed to accept a 1-1 draw within the ODI fixtures.
“I was in rehabilitation and on rest during the Bangladesh tour. It was not the case of me being dropped,” Gayakwad mentioned.
The spinner, who has performed two Tests, 64 ODIs, and 55 T20Is for India, is at the moment busy in an low season camp for Indian gamers of the Women’s Premier League facet UP Warriorz in Bengaluru.
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“We have done some great work in the camp. We did not need to work on any specific areas but spoke about improving in those areas where we could have done better and focused only on that.”
“The focus has been on the overall game — from fielding to batting and bowling. The batters, though, tried to work on their stroke-making in particular.” Gayakwad mentioned coming editions of the WPL will present extra matchtime to the gamers.
“The WPL is a big thing for Indian cricket because it challenges us to take our cricket more seriously and we can improve more because there were not many opportunities in terms of match-time for us.”
“Playing for the Indian team directly from the domestic set-up was the only option, but going forward, there will be more matches, which will only result in the betterment of women’s cricket in India.”
On sharing the dressing room with a few of the largest names in girls’s cricket, Gayakwad mentioned, “The one thing we learn from overseas players is their thought process, like how they prepare themselves before a match.”
With 99 wickets, Gayakwad is India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket however has no specific intention to complete at any spot on the checklist.
“Frankly speaking, I do not think about it. The idea is to take it one match at a time. I have not thought about getting here or there,” she mentioned.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com