Interview: 'Hardik Pandya, Deepti Sharma biggest takeaways for Indian Cricket from 2022,' claims Anjum Chopra

New Delhi, Dec 30: Former India women's cricket team captain Anjum Chopra claimed Hardik Pandya's phenomenal transition from a match-winning cricketer to an inspirational leader was one of the biggest takeaways for Indian Men's Cricket Team from 2022.

The Baroda cricketer played a pivotal role in his debut season as a captain in the Indian Premier League and guided debutants Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL triumph. Hardik led his team by example in the cash-rich league.

The all-rounder carried his form as a player as well as a captain to help the Indian side win the T20I series in Ireland, West Indies, and New Zealand.

In an exclusive chat with MyKhel, Chopra (45) also termed the rise of Indian woman all-rounder Deepti Sharma as a biggest positive for the Women in Blue in the outgoing year.

The former Delhi cricketer also reflected on the performance of the Indian men's cricket team's performance in Bangladesh where they lost the ODI series and won the Test series 2-0 but were challenged to the hilt by Bangladeshi spinners in the second Test. And what are her hopes for Indian Cricket in the new year 2023.

Here are the excerpts:

Question: As you were part of the commentators' panel during India's tour of Bangladesh, what according to you was the reason behind Men In Blue's ODI series loss? What were the takeaways from the Test series that Team India won?

Answer: The players took some time acclimatising to the conditions and pitches and that for me was a reason for the ODI series loss. There weren't many positives to take from the Test series either as we didn't do collectively well as a batting unit. The top-order hasn't performed in Test cricket to the best of their ability. Yes, there was some individual brilliance but overall the batting line could have done better. As the team didn't play many Test matches this year, we can also attribute this as a factor for the inconsistent show from the batters. As far as India's bowling department is concerned, it looked more sorted (as they picked up 20 wickets in both games). This isn't the best of the Indian Test side, hence we witnessed a few chinks in the armour but sometimes even the strongest of Indian sides have shown some weakness. So, I won't be too critical of this team and hope they will make amends before the next assignment.

Anjum Chopra lauds ICC for announcing Women's Future Tours Programme

Q: What according to you is a reason behind Indian batters' struggle against spinners?

Answer: Batting against spin and doing well against a spinner are two different things. Also, the more white-ball games you play, the more prone you are to drifting away from the art of playing spin. You'll perform better against spin when you bat for a longer duration in a Test match. You are challenged more when there are cracks on the surface but such pitches are hardly offered to the batters at domestic and international stages. You develop certain skill sets only when you are exposed to them, which is not happening as far as playing on turning tracks is concerned.

Earlier the players used to play more on challenging tracks and that's why they used to counter the spinners better. Today, a majority of batters in India are playing on the good tracks, and by good I mean, where you score more runs. Even at the domestic or grassroots or international level, a batter is playing on good surfaces. When you are playing on bouncy tracks you are challenged in a different way and develop skillsets based on that.

Nowadays, we are hardly providing challenging spin tracks at every stage, and that is why a player is unable to face spin bowling well. I believe this is the reason why batters are struggling against spin and or spinning tracks.

'BCCI's landmark pay parity decision will transform women's cricket in India'

Look at Shreyas Iyer's performance in the fourth innings of the second Test against Bangladesh. He was reacting differently on that challenging surface than the rest of the batters and that's why the result was also different. So, that is the only thing.

Q: Do you think that Indian batters should go back to Ranji Trophy and grind themselves to get better against spinners?

Answer: No, you can't ask an international player to go and play in Ranji Trophy. Let them prepare for a Test series against Australia or Sri Lanka. And by the way, if you look at the Ranji pitches today, they are all good tracks and conducive for batting.

So, these are no more 'challenging tracks' per se in Ranji Trophy either. If a Tamil Nadu team is playing a Ranji match in Delhi, it isn't braving the track here, instead, it is finding ways how to counter the cold wave, which the players from down south are not used to playing under. So, it is about batting on a pitch all day or making a conscious effort to bat all day, or preparing yourself for how long you can bat on turning pitches.

Question: Who according to you were the biggest positives for Indian Cricket (both men and women)?

Answer: Performing consistently for a team throughout the year is a big thing. There have been quite a few takeaways for India in the white-ball format. For Hardik Pandya in the men's cricket team, it has been a fantastic year as he could perform so well to full fitness or near to full fitness in the IPL and later in the T20 World Cup. He was the Most Valuable Player for Team India in 2022. In the women's cricket team, I think Deepti Sharma did exceedingly well. Young Anjali Sarvani doing so well against Australia Women in the T20Is in her maiden India call-up was also a big takeaway.

We need to look at where you were before the start of the year and where you end it as a player and as a team, and I think there were plenty of positives for Indian cricket in this regard.

Question: How would you rate the Indian Women's Cricket Team's performance against Australia in the T20I series?

Answer: I liked the way they won the game against Australia in the second T20I, which went to the Super Over and India won it. I would have been happier had the result gone on the other side as well because the players put up a fight and showed character. So, the batting looked better in that game but it once again nosedived in successive games. Therefore, I feel they need to work in that department. Although it is never easy to beat this Australian team and India did put up some fights throughout the series, they failed to perform collectively as a team.

Question: How crucial will be the presence of Shafali Varma and Richa Ghosh in the upcoming U19 Women's World Cup as they've already been a part of the national side?

Answer: It will be very crucial. But not just for these two in fact for the entire women's cricket as a whole. When we started playing there wasn't much cricket but it's good to see that these young girls are getting the exposure of a World Cup at such an early stage in their career. Also, it will help improve the talent pool. So the ICC and BCCI are doing a good job by focusing on women's cricket.

I would like to add that the senior Indian Women's team will be playing a series in South Africa ahead of the T20 World Cup 2023, so that will give them a chance to acclimatise early. The BCCI has been doing an excellent job by planning these tours for women's cricket. Earlier the tours were being planned alongside the men's team but now the women's team is doing standalone tours which is heartening to see.

Question: What are your expectations from Indian Cricket in 2023?

Answer: I hope the players stay fit and play competitive cricket to the best of their potential. And it will be wonderful if they end up winning any or all the World Cups (U19 Women's WC, Women's T20 WC & Men's ODI WC) next year.