As India kick off their Women's Championship cycle against Zimbabwe in Vadodara, all-rounder Deepti Sharma is ready to assume the responsibility of the vice-captain.
With Smriti Mandhana taking over as captain from Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti was named her deputy for the ODI leg of the series. Though it remains to be seen what happens when Jemimah Rodrigues returns from injury, Deepti is keen to grab the chance with both hands and assist Mandhana to the best of her abilities.
"When you get a new role, I take it as a challenge. When this news came, I felt good that I could help the other players as much as possible for the team. So, when I got this role, I was very happy," Deepti said on the eve of the series opener. "My mindset is to win as many matches as possible for the team, whether as a player or as vice-captain. In this role, I can help Smriti as much as possible," she added.
The senior all-rounder expect the conditions to be batting friendly as hosts aim to post 300-plus totals whilst batting first in the three-match series. "The pitch is very good. From the training session we had, we know it will be a good batting track. We have played so many matches, and our team knows very well how the wickets are going to be and what the conditions will be. So, we are pretty sure about what to expect," she said.
"We will think of scoring more than 300. But it will still depend on what happens after the toss and what kind of wicket we get. That will also be in our minds. But if we bat first, we will score at least 300," she added.
Earlier, India had won the three-match T20I series between two teams 3-0 in Raipur.
