Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
Mithali Raj

Though India may have lost the finals of the Women’s World Cup, captain Mithali Raj is ensuring that she takes every possible step to develop women’s cricket in India. She said that now they have got the attention of cricket fans, it is the time to create a base of a female equivalent to the Indian Premier League.

Mithali Raj revealed that it is her last World Cup appearance and also said that the girls have set a platform for a better future. “These girls have really set the platform for the upcoming generations in India. They’ve opened up the channels for women’s cricket and they should be really proud of themselves. I have seen the changes the girls have made. Unlike 2005 (when Australia hammered India by 98 runs in the final at Centurion, South Africa), this went to the end,” she said.

Mithali feels that nervousness took away the match from them. She said, “Everybody was very nervous and I think that resulted in our defeat.”

She also said that the team is getting a positive response from the fans. “The response from the public is very positive. I’m sure the BCCI is very proud of the team. When we lost to South Africa and Australia (in pool play), no one thought we would get to the final. A team like that has come to the finals and given a good fight to the home team. The WBBL has given exposure to the two girls who have played (Smriti Mandhana and Kaur). If more girls participate in such leagues, it will give them experience and help them to improve their own game. If you ask me, they should have (women’s) IPL because now is the right time to create that base,” she said.

By Naman