After narrowly missing out on gold at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Indian women's cricket team, often referred to as the 'Women in Blue', is setting their sights on the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the prominent left-arm spinner of India's women's cricket team, exudes confidence about clinching the coveted gold in the Asian Games.
In a tragic turn at the women's cricket debut in the Commonwealth Games, India suffered a defeat against Australia in the ultimate showdown. This marked their third major final loss in the recent past. Nevertheless, their ICC T20I ranking has secured them a direct spot in the Asian Games quarterfinals.
In a recent exclusive chat with PTI, Gayakwad asserted, "Definitely, we will get the gold medal in the Asian Games. We have played against all major opponents in the past, but not to dwell on that much, we have the trust in our team that we are capable of winning and clinching the gold medal."
For the unversed, Gayakwad missed India's last series against Bangladesh due to her rehabilitation period, refuting any claims of her being sidelined. The seasoned spinner, boasting a career of two Tests, 64 ODIs, and 55 T20Is for India, is currently engaged in an off-season training camp with the Women’s Premier League's UP Warriorz in Bengaluru.
Speaking about their preparations, she mentioned, "We have done some great work in the camp. We did not need to work on any specific areas but spoke about improving in those areas where we could have done better and focused only on that. The focus has been on the overall game — from fielding to batting and bowling. The batters, though, tried to work on their stroke-making in particular."
Gayakwad believes that the forthcoming editions of the Women's Premier League (WPL) will bolster match experience for players. She opined, "The WPL is a big thing for Indian cricket because it challenges us to take our cricket more seriously and we can improve more because there were not many opportunities in terms of match-time for us." "Playing for the Indian team directly from the domestic set-up was the only option, but going forward, there will be more matches which will only result in the betterment of women's cricket in India."
When quizzed about mingling with international cricketing icons, Gayakwad expressed her admiration for their mental prep before games. She said,"The one thing we learn from overseas players is their thought process, like how do they prepare themselves before a match".
Holding a commendable record with 99 wickets, Gayakwad sits as India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in ODIs. However, she remains humbly focused on one game at a time, without any specific rank aspirations.
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