Improved fitness, emphasis on specific requirements and better understanding of situations are some of the changes in the Indian women’s team under WV Raman, seen at the recent T20 World Cup. In a candid chat with Venkata Krishna B, the coach elaborates on those aspects, the blueprint he has put in place for next year’s 50-over World Cup and more...
When WV Raman took over as head coach of the Indian women’s team 14 months ago, T20 was a format the team was yet to crack. The young team led by Harmanpreet Kaur travelled to Australia as underdogs and though they lost in the final, they were the toast of the nation. In an interview with TNIE, the coach opens up on the T20 World Cup and the road ahead.
What did you tell the team after the World Cup final?
The message was clear. They had nothing to be ashamed of. They had acclimatised well, given how tough the tour was and did the best they could. They have to ensure that here on, they keep working at their game. It was down to one session or a day nothing came off and it happened in the final. There was nothing we could do about it.
Are you satisfied with the tour?
It was a very good campaign in both the tournaments — the tri-series and the World Cup. Because one, it is a young side and second, they were trying to get a hang of how to go about it in T20s. In the triseries, we played against the two best sides. In the World Cup we had different challenges. Overall, they measured up to whatever that came across and did well. Because they have been used to playing on a certain type of pitches and surfaces in Australia are totally different from what they usually get. It was a very good tour for the girls.
You have been in charge for 15 months. And India have changed the way they go about it in T20s. Can you talk about the change in approach?
When I saw them in the T20 series against New Zealand away and at home against England, I thought the team was not settled. It was obvious that talent was around, but the important thing was to try and see what the combination should be and who are the girls who would fit the part.
After that, we had to ensure they stepped up on their fitness. They were all frail and because of lack of fitness, T20s and even ODIs used to be taxing for them. T20s require some speed and power. They needed to improve their fitness and skill to play smarter cricket. They used to pick singles and look to hit big shots. Lack of fitness meant they would tire quickly. Which meant they would go for big hits in a hope that it comes off without any conviction.
In the ODIs against South Africa, we fielded 50 overs and the openers batted for 40-odd overs. This was not seen on many earlier occasions. Once they realised fitness is helping them in the skill aspect too, it became easier for them to realise what they needed to do. We started the fitness programme in June and reassembled every three months to see how they progressed.
Also, from the South Africa series, I was telling them to gear up mentally for the challenges in Australia six months later. I was saying that they had to be playing different oppositions because in bilaterals after a couple of games it will be a straight forward equation. But if you are going to play a different opposition each day, you have to be adaptable mentally and also tactically on the field.
Did they buy into the idea straightaway?
The good thing is they are very diligent and they don’t shy away from hard work. They were happy that the things they were doing were helping them. They started developing a habit of eating better and focussing on diet.
Once they realise the benefits, handling the responsibility becomes easier. They all wanted to do, but didn’t know what to do. Over a period, it (fitness) was reminded to them along with the challenges. Even in the tri-series, they didn’t get anything easy. Obviously, you don’t get anything easy when you play against two of the toughest sides. It was then that they realised they had to repeatedly do things consistently every day.
Once they did well in the tri-series, they got the confidence. I kept repeating that in T20s, you don’t need a side full of superstars. Each one could become a hero on the back of a couple of big hits or a good catch or a couple of wickets at the right time. There was emphasis on finishing. It is not about what the top-order does, but what we do in the last few overs, an extra 15-20 runs from the lower-order will be winning runs. Even if the top-order clicks, the last part was going to be important.
Shafali Verma had an outstanding tournament. Did you ask her to back her own style?
I have always encouraged the girls to be positive. You start playing cricket to make friends, but when you got into the competitive circuit, you continue because you enjoy the game. That being the case, I see no reason why you should be scared of any situation or opposition or player. And only when you enjoy, you play well and only if you play well, you enjoy.
As of Shafali, I just left it to her style of batting. Why tell a bumblebee it can’t fly? It is said that a bumblebee is not aerodynamically suited to fly, but it still flies. When Shafali is going to churn runs with the way she bats, why tell her something else? Why inhibit her?
The purpose of having her in the side is to wrest the initiative. She is sharp in terms of her cricketing acumen. Every session she tries different things and at home against South Africa and in the Caribbean she developed a few shots. For a 15-and-a-half year old to work it out and do it in the middle, she is well aware of what she does.
In the past, others who have worked with you often mention that you didn’t allow aerial shots. How did you like Shafali’s style?
No, no, no. That aerial shot, people have to get the context right. I would have said it in the context of four-dayers and that too when they were preparing for it. But I always said that after the net session is over, you go and practise it separately and devote time for that. People have got the context and reasoning wrong. Going back to Shafali, she has shown she can play shots over the top as well as on the ground. These are done instinctively and she is too young to even have a specific plan. When you go with a particular mindset, you stick to that and miss out on a lot of other things.
When Shafali plays, she sets a different pace. Once she is dismissed, do you ask the rest to continue with it or be guarded?
No, I always advocate that batting should be an automatic response. If you played two dot plays, be it. What they used to do was they would go with a predetermined plan of trying to work the ball around in one particular place and that may not happen. If there are three dot balls and a necessity to go for a big shot, they would get out. I asked them make every ball count. In the first game against Australia, Jem (Jemimah Rodrigues) and Deepti (Sharma) did that and it continued in the league stages. In T20s, however bad you bat, you would score at a strike-rate of 120-125. So when you erase predetermined thoughts of playing big shots when odds are against you, you minimise the damage by 40 per cent. It is all about playing smart and according to your strengths.
How did you handle expectations during the World Cup?
I never uttered two words for seven weeks and they were the ‘World Cup’. Those words are more detrimental than beneficiary. I was always referring to it as the two tournaments we were there to play. I told them that never think that the opposition has become five times stronger than they are. It is against the same teams that you played before that you are going to play. If you play to potential on a regular basis, nobody is going to challenge you. Results will be here and there, but that is a different thing.
Is there unrealistic expectation from the team to win big events, considering India are years behind Australia and England?
Expectations will always be there. I would say since it is a young side, this sort of expectation is good also. Because they need to know to handle this and perform as well as they can. They can’t escape from expectations. When you play for India there is going to be a lot of following, love, respect and encouragement. So learn to accept the expectations as well.
This adulation and expectations are new to them. How are they handling it?
It is something which is going to be there, but you don’t draw attention all the time. It is like, if you put somebody in a car and you sit in the passenger’s sit and try and control it, it will be an accident. You must try and take their mind off it and not make it the focus all the time. You try and tell them to keep working on the cricketing aspect, the rest will take care of itself.
Now you have a 50-over World Cup in February-March next year. Have preparations started?
As much as it is necessary to plan, it also depends on when you start planning. We did have the T20 World Cup in our thought process a year ago. But the real momentum kicked in about six months prior to that. Around seven months to the T20 WC, we decided to identify a pool of players and ensure we retain the squad more or less. That’s how it will be with the 50-over World Cup. There is time because there is no point switching on a television one hour before the programme you are going to watch. You have to wait and that is what it is.
The spinners had plenty of responsibility and they did well. What about the pace department?
Definitely we need to sort of unearth some talent in addition to the existing ones. A bit of work has already started on that front. For example, a specialist fast-bowling coach accompanied the India A team and the same coach (Subroto Banerjee) was there in the triseries as well because the girls wanted help. They are putting in their work. The important thing to remember is, be it a male cricketer or female, fast bowling is tough. And it’s one thing that they want to work hard and come good, but it can’t happen overnight. We need to not only work on their speed.
Why I asked for a fast-bowling coach is the psyche of a pacer is important to have. They need to understand and know what they need to have. It is a tough job and then you need to get stronger because you are frail. If you make them work too much on their technique, skills and make them bowl more without making them stronger, they might break down. But again, they have to put work on that front. We have to strike a good balance.
This is going to take time. They have been made aware of how they have to go about it. Now they need to train on their strengths and fitness to sustain their workload. It is very delicate job. The process has already started to make them stronger because going forward we need to do that. Otherwise, we can’t be one trick pony for too long.
There are a lot of calls for a Women’s IPL. How do you see those and is it a necessity?
There will be views. Everyone is interested to see how it pans out. My personal view is that it is important to go slow and steady. If you are talking about an eight-team IPL, it a is bit premature now. With the U-19 World Cup starting next year and Emerging U-23 Asia Cup happening from last year, and also India A teams on tours, we will have a lot of players coming in at various levels. In four years, you will have a lot more talent which will suffice for around eight teams. If you start an IPL and suddenly see the quality is not where you expected it to be, then it is not an ideal situation to be in. Anyway, it is up to the BCCI and they would also deliberate a lot on that and get it right.
FULL NAME Woorkeri Venkat Raman
DOB May 23, 1965
TEST DEBUT Jan 11, 1988 vs West Indies
ODI DEBUT Jan 2, 1988
APPOINTMENT Became coach of women’s team in 2018 December.
OTHER TEAMS
TN head coach , Bengal head coach , Kings XI Punjab assistant coach M Kolkata Knight Riders batting coach , India U-19 interim coach , National Cricket Academy batting coach
Need for speed
The Indian women’s team depends heavily on spinners. Raman says work has started to strengthen
the pace department because unless that is done, the team risks becoming a one-trick pony. In the
T20 World Cup, India fielded just one medium-pacer in three of the five matches.