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Exclusive! BCCI consciously working towards full-fledged women's IPL, says Anjum Chopra

In a telephonic conversation with MyKhel, former Indian women's cricket team captain Anjum Chopra stressed on the importance of a rich talent pool of women players for India.

Exclusive: BCCI consciously working to create a rich talent pool of domestic players for womens IPL, says Anjum Chopra

New Delhi: The Indian Women's Cricket Team made the country proud by making it to their first-ever ICC Women's T20 World Cup final in Australia last month. Under the leadership of captain Harmanpreet Kaur, the Women In Blue remained undefeated in the league stage but failed to cross the line after getting hammered in a one-sided final by mighty Australians.

In front of a record attendance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the Indian girls were no match to the Meg Lanning-led side but former India captain Anjum Chopra optimistic for a better future. She believes playing more finals will eventually help the girls learn what it takes to cross the finishing line.

Chopra, who was the face of Women's Cricket in India and played in six worlds finals, has closely followed the journey of this current Indian side. The former Delhi cricketer, who also happens to be the first woman 'sportscaster' on television in India, spotted a few gaping holes in the side and believes such loopholes need to be filled for this team to succeed.

In a telephonic conversation with MyKhel, the Padma Shri and Arjuna awardee cricketer stressed on the importance of a rich talent pool of women players for India to do well on the international stage and added that only such a talent pool would pave the way for the much-talked-about women's IPL.

Here are the excerpts of the conversation with Anjum Chopra:

MyKhel: How would you rate the performance of the Indian Women's Cricket Team in the T20 World Cup this year?

Anjum Chopra: It was certainly impressive because we never made it to the finals of the World T20 before. The players held on to their nerves under crunch situations during the league stages which proves this team has made the right progression but there is still room for improvement.

MK: Perhaps, the semi-final against England getting washed out denied Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. the match-practice. Our girls played the final after a gap of eight days. Do you think their performance would have been better had they progressed to the final after a win in the semis?

AC: That is debatable. What if they had lost the semi-final to England? Then everyone would have claimed the other way round. You can't control the uncontrollable. Yes, we didn't get a match-practice and that hampered our momentum but that could be just one of the factors for our defeat. If you see, even our semi-final game was scheduled five days after our last league game and mind you, five days is also a big gap in a competition like the World Cup.

Virat Kohli's hunger to excel could be a template for Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur: Anjum ChopraVirat Kohli's hunger to excel could be a template for Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur: Anjum Chopra

MK: Looking at Harmanpreet & side's meek surrender against Australia at the MCG in the final do you think this team hasn't yet learnt how to win big finals?

AC: As I said, the team's morale would have been higher had they entered the final with a win because momentum is something we always talk about in the game of cricket. But if you look at Australia's batting in the final, even they were nervy and gave away some catches early on. That showed even the mighty Australians were also feeling the big-game pressure. But our players couldn't convert those chances.

I am sure, everyone, including our players, hoped for a better final, given the kind of run they had in the league stage but it turned out to be a one-sided affair after the first four overs.

I would still maintain there wasn't a dearth of experience in this Indian side. Almost six to seven players in this team were part of the side which played in the 2017 WC final and 2018 T20 WC semi-final. So, it won't be right to say that they don't have the experience and are poor at handling pressure. But at the same time, the pressure of a WC final is totally different and you can't prepare for them overnight. So, how do you learn to absorb that pressure and cross that final hurdle? The answer to that is by playing more such high stake games, and once you've crossed the line, you'll understand it takes to win big finals. The Australians won the final because they are vastly experienced and their players know how to cross the finishing line.

MK: Our focus will now shift to the ODI World Cup in New Zealand next year. Do you think Mithali Raj's presence in the ODI squad and her leadership will improve our chances of winning the title next year?

AC: See, Mithali brings a lot of experience in the side, in terms of batting and that is certainly going be a very big factor. She has a calming effect on the team. I felt a gap in India's batting in the 2018 WT20 semi-final when our girls were bowled out for a paltry 112 against England. Mithali was not included in that game and I think we paid the price of dropping a seasoned campaigner like her. She brings stability in the Indian batting line-up but as far as our chances in the next year's world cup are concerned, I think, it is a little too early to comment.

Before that, we'll have to see when the cricketing action begins because at the moment sporting events have come to a pause due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

If we keep these factors aside and hope everything goes back to normal at the right time for the WC to happen, then I feel New Zealand and Australia will be favourites because they know the conditions better. Unlike India, these teams do exceedingly well in their home conditions.

MK: We saw young Shafali Verma impress with her talent and batting skills in the T20 World Cup. How should the team management handle a raw talent like her so that her progression from T20Is to ODIs remains smooth?

AC: Shafali has only played T20Is and she's yet to make her ODI debut. We'll have to see where she fits in the team management's scheme of things, whether she'll open or will she be asked to bat in the middle-order; because in the ODIs Poonam Raut opens with Smriti (Mandhana) and Jemimah (Rodrigues) has batted in their absence.

As far as grooming young players is concerned, it is the collective responsibility of the national team's coach, support staff and the individual player's coach. A player isn't taught how to play in the national side, he/she is only refined after getting included in the national side.

I think, more than the coach and support staff, it is the player who is responsible for his/her growth after getting the India call-up. If a player gets content after scoring 15-20 runs for the national side and stops learning then he/she will never progress. While the players who think about winning the games for their side, no matter how young or old they are, will last longer. So, it depends on one's mindset and intent.

I think, overall, India's batting was disappointing in WWT20. The senior players will have to improve their game. Had the seniors played to their potential, we would have been the World Champions. Of late, our middle-order failed to contribute as a unit. I think the time has come when we shouldn't judge a player's experience in terms of his/her age, instead, the parameter should now be based on the maturity he/she shows on the pitch. You don't talk about the age of Hardik Pandyas, Bhuvneshwar Kumars, Rishabh Pants, or Prithvi Shaws in men's cricket. Instead, you talk about the talent they possess and the kind of match-winners they are.

MK: What is your suggestion to the players as to how should they improve their batting performance in the coming tournaments?

AC: Suggestions never happen overnight, I am a firm believer of that. It depends on the player's intent to improve. The BCCI provides the players with a pedestal to represent the national team and it all boils down to an individual's effort. In my playing days, I used to get all the necessary support. Today that has only gone a notch up but it is the player's responsibility to perform, not the board's. I think, the focus once again needs to shift back to the players. They need to stake a claim in the national side, and once that is achieved, there's no stopping Indian women's cricket.

MK: Is the time ripe for the BCCI to organise a full-fledged Women's IPL like WBBL and Kia League? Do you think we have the required talent pool in the country to pitch for a league of such a magnitude?

AC: I feel the women's cricket in India has gone one-notch up in terms of media attention, otherwise the standard of cricket was satisfying in the past as well. I have played six world cups and never missed a semi-final, and also played a final in 2005. The change we are witnessing is a result of the public attention which came after India played final in 2017, and the credit for that also goes to the ICC because the global cricketing body consciously planned that event in England. There was no or very little men's cricket during that period and the matches were broadcast across the globe. The Women's World Cup 2017 was an ICC-driven entity which achieved maximum profit after India reached the final.

Similarly, IPL is also a content-driven tournament which catches the eyeballs but that doesn't guarantee that women's IPL will be equally popular. For a tournament like this to succeed, you need a quality talent pool of domestic players because a good brand of cricket will only decide the future of such a tournament.

Just like men's cricket, there are around 37 state teams in the women's cricket as well but we are not getting the quality of players from the domestic circuit we need. If our domestic players were good, then we'd have an equally strong pool of players for the national side. I think, if we get a minimum of two players from every state, then we'll have the talent pool to pick from and polish them for the future.

I think the BCCI understands it well and IPL should be a tournament which is supposed to help Indian Cricket. The BCCI is making a conscious effort and deftly preparing a stage for women's IPL. First, they held one IPL match, last year they organised four games, and if the IPL happens this year, there will be seven such matches. So the BCCI is giving our players enough exposure.

There are domestic women's T20 leagues happening in Australia and England but only a handful of Indian players are getting the invitation to participate there. First, there were only Harmanpreet and Smriti, now Jemimah and Deepti Sharma are also getting to play in such leagues. Shafali could be next in line because she has delivered in her maiden WC appearance and at least she has floated her name. If our players do well at the international level they'll be invited to participate in WBBL and Kia League. Won't that be an equally big achievement for them? Shouldn't they strive to stake claims for such leagues? IPL or no IPL, a player must strive to improve and show her potential whenever she gets chance. Everything else will fall in place automatically.

MK: Smriti and Harman's form hurt India in WT20 but with very little cricket in the coming months once the coronavirus pandemic is curbed, will they be able to get their forms back in time for next WC?

AC: I think everyone's form is a concern. Except for Shafali (Verma), there was hardly any batter who left a mark in Australia. Although it happens with every team, the form of every player in the side can never be at the top all the time. But fortunately, we have a player in our country in Virat (Kohli), who strives to get better after every failure. If he fails with the bat in a couple of games, in the third one he'll respond with a century, such is his class.

His work ethics, commitment, passion and hunger to get better should be an example for every athlete in the country, not just cricketers. Kohli's transformation could also be a brilliant blueprint for our girls as well. Smriti and Harman are proven match-winners and I'm sure both of them will recover from this lean patch, but the sooner the better for the national side as well as for their state teams.

MK: What are your plans? Will you be continuing with the commentator's job or are you thinking of picking up the coach's hat in future?

AC: I am working on my projects that were pending for the last couple of years as there were a lot of foreign travels involved. Now, I have a lot of time for myself so focussing on that. As far as the coach's job is concerned, I am not up for it. Though, I will be always there for the team as a consultant whenever it needs me. I also take this opportunity to state that the current Indian Women's Team coaches WB Raman and Narendra Hirwani are doing an excellent job and the results are in front of everyone.

Story first published: Sunday, April 26, 2020, 19:07 [IST]
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