Indian women set to play more games in the future
What's the story?
After an unequal share in the distribution of games saw the Indian women's team playing no international games for sixth months after the finals of the 2017 Women's World Cup, the BCCI has decided to regulate the team's fixtures, including more ODIs and T20Is for the upcoming years.
"We are arranging bilateral series with different countries so our women will get more exposure. We will be playing England and then travel to Sri Lanka. Then we will be going to New Zealand for another bilateral series in February-March 2019", a BCCI official told ESPNCricinfo.
In case you didn't know...
The women's team is currently locking horns with Australia in an ODI series as part of the ICC Women's ODI Championship: they have lost a total of four games, including two practice games that were played before the start of the three-match series. One match is yet to be played.
The heart of the matter
The Indian women will have a lot to look forward to, with the new ICC Women's Championship dictating that the side will play three ODIs in Sri Lanka and New Zealand next year, apart from five T20Is before the World T20 that is scheduled to take place later this year.
Outside of the IWC, the Indian team will play England in a bilateral series at home, after a tri-series of T20s involving them, England and Australia, ends. The side is also slated to play in the Asia Cup, set to be held in June, which will also be in the T20 format.
What's next?
The immediate challenge for the team is to salvage some pride against Australia in the last of the three ODIs, set to be held on March 18. The team had lost the practice games by a margin of 321 runs and seven wickets.
Author's take
It is welcome news for the Indian women's team, especially after their spectacular run in the World Cups last year. More exposure to international cricket will help build a team for bigger events and will help them hone their skills all the more, at the highest level.