CHENNAI : Gujarat Giants might not have had a great Women’s Premier League season, but D Hemalatha is excited for the upcoming BCCI Inter Zonal Three-day tournament, which is set to begin on Thursday.
After Indian women’s success in the longest format during the home Test series against England and Australia, the BCCI has brought back the inter zonal multi-day women’s tournament which was last held in 2017-18 season. At that time, Hemalatha was playing for South Zone which finished second in the three-day tournament. A lot has changed in the four seasons since for women’s cricket in general but also for Hemalatha, who will be turning up for central zone in the upcoming tournament to be played in Pune.
“It is very different from the T20 format. You need patience and technique to do well in the longest format. I am really happy that this tournament is back,” Hemalatha told this daily. “In Test cricket, it is all about skills. The more we play, the better players will get in a lot aspects,” she added. Going into the tournament, Hemalatha has had a good WPL season personally with Gujarat, finishing with 115 runs at a strike rate of 129. “It was not easy in Bengaluru but Delhi was good. It feels good to do something good for the team. When I score, I feel like I am trying to contribute for the team,” she said.
After the inaugural season in 2023, where Hemalatha was one of the main Indian six hitters, the Giants’ batter has tried to upskill throughout the season and come out stronger. The way she took on Mumbai Indians’ Shabnim Ismail, was one of the highlights of the season. “I have learnt a lot and what to improve. Ismail is one of the fastest in the world and when you train in home ground I trained for that and it was helpful,” she said. “Range hitting is something I am working on and converting fours into sixes, batswing, having a strong base, power, and a few extra things I have worked, especially against medium pacers. I know I can hit full length and they have seen it. So I tried to work on my weakness and it helped me,” she added.
It is not just Hemalatha, though. The Gujarat batter says that the WPL has given a platform and motivation for every player in the domestic circuit to upskill themselves. “I have not seen it before WPL. A lot of batters tried power hitting and bowlers were trying to be disciplined and working on their skills to get a chance and do well in WPL. I can see the same in a lot new faces in the domestic circuit as well. And it is a good sign of growth for Indian cricket,” she signed off.