India women’s team chief coach WV Raman is happy with the resumption of international cricket. He believes one needs to adapt to bowl without using saliva and adds that a conditioning camp for the women’s team is needed before they start playing.
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How do you look at the resumption of cricket with the England-West Indies Test series?
It was obviously exciting as people were starved of cricket for a while and sports can always play a major role in lifting the spirits of everyone by providing entertainment. While this series has provided reassurance that cricket can be conducted, I am sure administrators across the world will be deliberating on the modalities of hosting cricket, men’s or women’s, depending on the prevailing situation.
The bio-bubble concept has worked in England. Can it be applied in women’s cricket too?
The organisation of an event will require different needs and different challenges will have to addressed. So one cannot say for sure that what works for one event will necessarily be suitable for another. It is a matter of constantly monitoring the situation and improvising, based on needs and challenges at that point.
How do you look at the ban on saliva. How tough will it be for our women cricketers to adjust?
We saw fast bowlers take wickets in the England-West Indies series. This means bowlers will work out how to adapt to the change in rules. It is too early to say, but there were indications that the extent of swing was less. But ultimately, it’s going to be about the skill of an individual.
Some former cricketers feel one can get reverse swing by using sweat and maintaining the ball. Do you agree?
The ability to produce reverse swing has always been skill based. For example, you might see six fast bowlers bowling in a Test match under similar conditions, but only three-four of them might produce reverse swing. So, if bowlers who produced reverse swing during their times believe using sweat will enable the current bowlers to produce reverse swing, it needs to be respected.
Like our men’s teams of past, our current women’s team has lots of spinners. Do you think spin is our strength? Which spinner is impressive?
Spin, at least for the time being, is the strength of the Indian women’s team. We are working on identifying a pool of fast bowlers, but developing them to measure up to the demands of international cricket will take time.
Does having a spin coach in Narendra Hirwani help our spinners play to potential?
Hirwani has had a positive impact on the bowlers he has worked with, primarily because he is highly experienced and has coached bowlers across different age groups and levels. His tactical inputs helped the girls anticipate the challenges that they could possibly need to counter on the field. His contribution was critical to make the girls constantly think about different scenarios and how to counter them.
Who are the youngsters in the team you are impressed with? What are the areas that the team needs to improve?
I’m not going to name X or Y, but the key thing is that the youngsters came to the fore during the World Cup and that is encouraging. Asking me to mention the areas needed to improve after lockdown would require me to be good in crystal ball reading, something that I confess that I am not good at.
Our players have been undergoing fitness training for four months. Do you think we need a short camp before a tour when the situation improves?
Their training protocols have been highly restricted, as they had to make do with whatever facilities and equipment were available. They will need time to get back to their peak, both in terms of skills and fitness, for which a camp is useful.
What is your mantra for taking the team forward and making it the No 1 side in the world?
Create a young team that will play together in the next 6-8 years and if that is achieved, India will dominate in the years to come.
Do you believe women can take up cricket as a profession in our country?
A girl taking up cricket as a profession is something that can be viewed with a lot more optimism now, than say, probably 10 years ago. However, the focus must be on excelling and producing consistent results.