"It is important they find their rhythm before the World Cup" - Mithali Raj on using NZ series as preparation
India Women's ODI skipper Mithali Raj wants her players to get into their rhythm in the upcoming series against New Zealand as they prepare for the ICC Women's World Cup.
The Women in Blue will lock horns with the White Ferns in a one-off T20I followed by five one-dayers to gear up for the mega event.
Mithali Raj believes the cricketers will take at least 2-3 games to get used to the conditions and should be at their best when the World Cup commences.
Addressing a press conference, she said:
"It will take them at least two or three games to get used to the conditions. We are here to use this series as preparation for the World Cup because it is the best way we get to know about the wickets and composition we will have next month.
"We want to put in our best standard of cricket so the team derives a lot of confidence when we get into the World Cup. We play to win but I look forward to giving some game time to the core players. It is important they find their rhythm before the World Cup."
💬 💬 Winning the World Cup for India still drives me.
#TeamIndia captain @M_Raj03 takes us through her cricketing journey & highlights what winning the World Cup will mean to her. 👍 👍 https://t.co/SKht4DKYFh
India will look to repeat their heroics from the 2017 World Cup and perhaps go one step closer to lifting the prestigious trophy.
"Looking to give game time to the core players" - Mithali Raj
With a lot of games to be played in the next few days, including the series against New Zealand and the seven World Cup group games before the knockouts and extended times in bio-bubbles, Mithali stressed that workload is in their minds.
The 39-year-old stated:
"Workload is in our minds but having said that rather than seeing two months if you look at the games we are getting it could be around five-plus or nine or 10 of the World Cup games. We do have a couple of more seamers in the side so we'll see how we can give them an opportunity.
"Workload is secondary right now but getting them to bowl in these conditions is important so that's where they need that game time to get on to the field and get two-three games to get used to the conditions."
Mithali Raj added:
"[We're] looking to give game time to the core players. It's important that each and every one of them find their rhythm before the world Cup. that's what every team would want to do, find their composition and their core so they can prep for the World Cup."
#TeamIndia squad for ICC Women's World Cup 2022 & New Zealand ODIs:
Mithali Raj (C), Harmanpreet Kaur (VC), Smriti, Shafali, Yastika, Deepti, Richa Ghosh (WK), Sneh Rana, Jhulan, Pooja, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Taniya (WK), Rajeshwari, Poonam.
#CWC22 #NZvIND https://t.co/UvvDuAp4Jg
The ICC Women's World Cup is scheduled to commence on March 4. India will begin their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 6 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.