WV Raman has done a fine job with the Indian’s Women’s Cricket Team as their Head Coach since December 2018. In an exclusive with Cricketnext the former India opening batsman spoke about the challenges for women in Test cricket and how India plan to prepare for the one-off Test against England later in the year.
India last played a Test way back in 2014 against South Africa in Mysuru and barring England and Australia, there are hardly any contests in the longest format of the game in women’s cricket.
EXCLUSIVE - BCCI Wants to Give the Girls a Feel of Test Cricket: WV Raman
Raman hoped that Test matches became a more regular feature in women’s cricket and the players are able to adjust to the need and demands of the format.
“It could cut both ways. One is that this could be the start of Test matches played on a regular basis. The other side to it is whether all the full members will be available to play women’s Test cricket. This question needs to be answered. It’s not going to be easy in the sense that because the girls are used to playing the shorter formats and so adapting to Test cricket will be a challenge in every respect."
“But all the same, it would be a worthwhile experiment to try and see if the girls can be slowly eased into Test cricket. I think that’s what is happening in a way, although it may not be expressly stated. We saw England play Australia in a Test match last year. It’s too early to say anything about the future of women’s Test cricket," added Raman.
Raman stated that the team needed a preparatory camp before getting back to the rigour of Test cricket to build their stamina and endurance.
“We would need to try and have a preparatory camp or even before that, a fitness and skills camp for a few weeks. It would give the girls a good opportunity to improve upon not only the physical fitness and endurance but also work on the skills part when it comes to handling Test cricket. It’s making the girls extend what they do in the other two formats."
He added that Test cricket also required a change in thought and approach and a lot more mental toughness and patience.
“It’s also a question of change in mindset required for duration cricket. They need to have a lot more patience in Test cricket. They should be prepared to bowl over after over after over and earn the batsman’s wicket. Our batters are capable of batting long, but they have to get used to batting for long in the preparatory camp and extend their period of batting in the nets as well."
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