Don’t panic: Edulji to women’s T20 team

The Indian women’s team, including skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, needs to maintain composure under high-pressure situations to end its long-standing ICC trophy drought at the next month’s T20 World Cup, said former captain Diana Edulji on Friday.

India came close to winning the women’s T20 World Cup in 2020 but fell short against six-time champions Australia in the final. Alyssa Healy’s explosive innings of 75 off 39 balls played a pivotal role in Australia’s 85-run romp at Melbourne.

“Australia is a very professional side. They have the spirit to play hard. We as a team need to get it into our mind that we have to play to win and they have to play out of their skins,” Edulji, who was present at the ICC T20 World Cup Trophy Tour event organised at the iconic Wankhede stadium.

“Yes, every team is strong. On any given day anybody can win a T20, so it’s going to be very easy for some batters or the others coming in and just turning the game on.

“As we saw in the Asia Cup, the left-handed batter came and nobody expected her to score the winning shots and hit sixes. So, it’s just about how you control yourself during that time. Don’t panic, the players should keep their cool,” she said.

“The (Indian) team is good. It’s just that I think they are not able to focus on how to finish the game,” the former player added.