India T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur backed the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision announcement of the Women’s T20 Challenge which is to be held along with the Indian Premier League in UAE.
The T20 captain also defended the decision to not send the national team tour to England for a proposed tri-series also involving South Africa,
“While it was an opportunity for us to resume playing again, it is also important to keep in mind the situation we all are in right now. It was the right decision,” she said in an interview with The Times of India.
India’s treatment of women’s cricket was criticised after the team’s September tour to England was cancelled by the BCCI without an official reason given. The implication was that it was due to the rising cases of coronavirus in India, which could cause logistical issues in organising a training camp.
The Indian women’s team has been without a selection committee for almost eight months now. Harmanpreet hoped that there will be a selection committee in place soon since they are very important for a team.
Sourav Ganguly, whose tenure as BCCI president is being discussed in court, had said there was a plan in place for the women’s team while announcing this year’s Women’s T20 Challenge. He had earlier said that as there is unlikely to be any women’s cricket before October for India, the board will get selectors in place before that.
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The Women’s T20 Challenge invited its share of flak as it clashes with the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia. This means that neither the top Indian players can take part in the premier T20 league for women while other international stars will be made to choose one.
On that front, Harmanpreet joined other Indian players in saying that the event in UAE is welcome news as unfortunate as the clash is. The 31-year-old was excited to get to action on Dubai pitches, where she has not played before.
“It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in such a situation. The respective cricket boards would obviously look towards growing the sport in their respective countries. I hope we can look towards playing in the tournament soon,” she said.
She also felt the tournament will help prepare for the ODI World Cup set to be held early next year in New Zealand.
“While we did miss lot of action during the last four-five months, the South Africa tour and the Women’s T20 Challenge puts us on the right track leading up to the World Cup,” she added.
You can read the full interview here
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