Mithali Raj glad to have Women’s T20 challenge amidst uncertain circumstances

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown cricket schedules around the globe haywire. Despite cricket slowly resuming, there are still concerns over the impact it would have on domestic and age-group cricket, especially in India, given the amount of travel teams will have to endure give the country’s geographical size. The women’s game too has taken a hit with no obviously clear future in place. However, the IPL’s announcement that there will be a Women’s T20 challenge alongside in the UAE has come as a major boost during these troubled times. 

Indian women’s ODI captain Mithali Raj has expressed her delight at the Women’s T20 challenge going ahead despite the uncertainty. "I personally thought we may not even get to play the Challenger trophy [T20 Challenge] because even the men's IPL was in doubt, but these games are most welcome," Raj told PTI. "I know a lot of people have questioned the timing, but these are not normal circumstances. Normally, the IPL happens in April-May and doesn't collide with WBBL. But these are unusual circumstances, the window was a short one and the BCCI did the best it could.”

The scheduling of the Women’s T20 challenge had left some of the foreign players frustrated as it might interfere with the Women’s Big bash league. However, there has been no cricketing activity in India ever since the pandemic gripped the country with the players having not even begun training. The Indian team which was scheduled to tour England did not board the flight owing to a lack of time to prepare for the series.

Mithali Raj cited that given the lack of training, it would have been impractical for the Women’s T20 Challenge to be held earlier to avoid clashing with the WBBL. "Even if we were to shift the Women's Challenge to September, the girls would not be ready. Australia and New Zealand players have had more time than us to start their preparations for the season. Nobody understands this but are quick to judge. We have four series scheduled before the World Cup but we are yet to get the date. When the England tour got canceled, players faced a lot of uncertainty and if there is nothing ahead you don't know what you prepare for. So the news of staging the IPL games is much needed.”

However, Raj sympathized with the foreign players who might miss out on playing in the Women’s T20 Challenge. "It [their frustration] is understandable. They [foreign players] also want to be part of the event. I too want the best players in the league. But the situation is not normal. Right now, there is hardly any sporting activity in India and to have the matches before the men's IPL, it would require players to be in match mode. We are yet to start training,” she said.

"More than the T20 Challenge games, I am relieved to have some cricket starting. That gives hope to other players to look forward to training and plan the season and not be in that uncertain mode. From what I heard we are going to have a camp sometime in September-October. That should help the team to re-group and assess themselves and accordingly plan ahead for the coming series," she added.

[Cricbuzz inputs]