India need to improve lower order batting and spin bowling: Mithali Raj

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Bengaluru, Februar 22: India women cricket team skipper Mithali Raj said lower-order batting and spin bowling needed improvement for India to become serious contenders in the 2018 T20 World Cup in November.

"The team has a lot to work on in T20s. We've been doing well in the last two games against South Africa. There's still work to do in preparation of the World Cup.

"We have good T20 batters in terms of Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy who can really clear. Smriti has been scoring consistently in these formats; youngster Pooja Vastrakar has been doing well with Jhulan Goswami. Shikha Pandey is an experienced campaigner," Mithali told the bcci.tv.

Mithali delved into the areas of improvement for the T20 team.

"A lot of work is needed in terms of our spin. The wickets are batter-friendly and more conducive for high scoring, so the spinners have a lot more to work on. And the lower order needs to contribute with the bat, because not in every game will the top-order score runs.

"Yes, we definitely want the batters to score the bulk of the runs, but sometimes, in some games, the tail needs to contribute more," she said.

Mithali said the India are no longer depended on a single player to win matches.

"The team should never be dependent on one player. We should have four to five players who can carry the team along and can win matches. For a long time, India didn't have that. Now I can see that we have developed few players who are match winners."

Mithali was also critical of her own performance too.

"I'm not really satisfied. I could have done well in the one-dayers and I am looking to continue to be more consistent in the T20 format.

"We have Australia and England coming up after the South Africa series, so that's going to be a very important series because they are quality oppositions and have far more quality players."