Commonwealth Games 2022: Play with passion, Veda exhorts India women's cricket team

Bengaluru, July 26: India women’s cricket team will open its campaign in the Commonwealth Games 2022 with a blockbuster match against Australia on July 29.

The cricket romantics will have a memorable day when India face Pakistan two days later at the Edgbaston cricket ground, Birmingham.

India will want a strong beginning in those two matches to progress further in the CWG 2022, where women’s cricket makes its debut in a global multi-sports events.

“They’ve been playing a lot of cricket, regardless of where and against whom. They had the World Cup, women’s IPL and few other.

“The conditions (in England) will go down to whether you want an extra pacer or not. They’ve got a lot of people who can perform,” said India all-rounder Veda Krishnamurthy in a press interaction organised by the Sony Sports Networks.

“As far as India versus Pakistan is concerned, everybody kind of feels the same. Play with passion and win the game. I heard it's already sold out (tickets). So, there will be a lot of feel, a lot of emotions,” said Veda.

However, Veda said India take inspiration from the feats of ace Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won an Olympic gold and recently a silver at the World Athletics Championship in Oregon.

"Every athlete is an inspiration for everyone. The way Neeraj Chopra has shouldered the entire sport…he has literally put javelin throw on the map. It is not like none of us knew about javelin throw.

“But I'm sure that 90 per cent of them never watched a javelin throw event. What he did in the Olympics is an inspiration,” she added.

Veda also mentioned that veteran cricketers like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, who are not part of the CWG squad, can work as mentors for the team in high pressure tournaments.

Indian women's cricket squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, S Meghana, Taniyaa Bhatia (Wk), Yastika Bhatia (Wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh Rana.

The Commonwealth Games 2022 can be watched in Sony Six, Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 4 (English) & Sony Ten 3 (Hindi) channels and the live streaming will be on Sony LIV.