“Fairly certain that we might see it occurring in a yr or two,” mentioned an optimistic Shikha Pandey on being requested when can one probably see a full-fledged Ladies’s Indian Premier League (IPL) going forward. The Ladies’s T20 Problem was performed for the very first time in 2018 and in a one-off match, the Supernovas had been in a position to outclass the TrailBlazers.
Then, in 2019, the BCCI organised a three-team match as an alternative of a one-off match, that includes a brand new crew referred to as Velocity together with Trailblazers and Supernovas.
Shikha performed the inaugural version of the match for the TrailBlazers whereas within the 2019 version, she represented Velocity.
This yr, BCCI had scheduled a four-team contest within the Ladies’s T20 Problem with seven matches in comparison with final yr’s 4. Nevertheless, the coronavirus pandemic compelled the postponement of the match.
In a telephonic interview with ANI, Shikha Pandey spoke in regards to the Ladies’s IPL and the way the competitors can encourage extra ladies within the nation to take up the game.
“As a cricketer, when you ask me, having the high-intensity video games and having the ability to play them can be a giant plus for us, on the worldwide stage, you get to play high-intensity video games, to have world-class cricketers taking part in alongside you, you get to study a lot from them by way of their expertise. With IPL matches being occurring and them being televised, loads of younger ladies would have the ability to watch it on tv, it will be an enormous factor as being a 90s child I didn’t get the prospect to observe televised ladies’s matches a lot,” mentioned Shikha whereas talking in regards to the prospects of the Ladies’s IPL.
“It might encourage the youthful lot to take up cricket. We now have acquired an enormous expertise pool inside our home cricket, I’d say Ladies’s IPL ought to occur and I’m very certain in one other yr or two, we’ll see a really nicely organised Ladies’s IPL. We now have performed Ladies’s T20 Problem in 2018 and 2019, the sort of reception we acquired from the those who got here to observe these matches was wonderful, the stadium was jampacked, any worldwide collection we play in India, now we have all the time acquired nice assist from the gang,” added the pacer who made her debut in 2014.
The 31-year-old Shikha additionally talked about what prompted her to write down an extended Twitter thread, asking the involved authorities to not tinker with guidelines to make ladies’s cricket extra “enticing”.
There have been strategies of making an attempt out a smaller ball or shorter pitch for ladies’s cricket, however Shikha had steered that quite than altering the foundations, authorities ought to look to market the game higher.
Elaborating about her Twitter thread, Shikha mentioned: “I’ve been listening to strategies to make ladies’s cricket extra interesting for some time now, there was lots being mentioned in regards to the adjustments that had been wanted to be made so as to make ladies’s cricket extra enticing, it was one thing I needed to precise, what I wrote in my Twitter thread was what I actually felt.”
“There have been many individuals who agreed with it, however I used to be pleased that individuals who didn’t agree with my opinion additionally got here out and talked about it. I used to be very pleased with the actual fact that folks had been popping out suggesting adjustments, it means they’re serious about ladies’s cricket and the way it can develop,” she added.
Shikha was part of the Indian squad that made the finals of the 2017 50-over World Cup and T20 World this yr. The pacer talked in regards to the affect of the finals of each the key tournaments.
India had missed out on successful each the tournaments, because the aspect confronted loss in opposition to England within the 50-over World Cup ultimate, whereas the Harmanpreet Kaur-led aspect confronted defeat in opposition to Australia within the T20 World Cup’s summit conflict.
Speaking about 2017 World Cup ultimate, Shikha mentioned: “After the 2017 World Cup, there was a surge in quite a lot of ladies who really needed to take up cricket professionally in India, they’ve been coming to to the academies so as to grow to be subsequent Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. The video games after the 2017 World Cup have been televised irrespective of the place now we have performed.”
“It was wonderful to see so many individuals come down on the MCG to observe the finals of the T20 World Cup, it’s as soon as in a lifetime alternative to play on the MCG to play in a entrance of so many individuals on Ladies’s Day with greats like Katy Perry and Billie Jean King. It was a spectacle, we misplaced the match, sure, however we had been very fortunate to play in entrance of so many individuals,” mentioned Shikha whereas speaking in regards to the T20 World Cup on the Melbourne Cricket Floor.
Shikha, who has scalped 73 wickets in ODIs, additionally talked about her learnings from the losses the Indian aspect suffered within the finals of the 2 main ICC tournaments.
“Everybody’s psychological setup is totally different, I’ve learnt loads of issues from the 2 finals that I performed in, I all the time consider that you simply study much more from defeats than from the success you’ve, holding your nerve in high-pressure conditions is one thing I’ve learnt, to have the ability to suppose clearly is one other factor I’ve learnt,” mentioned Shikha.
The Indian ladies’s crew was final seen in motion within the finals of the T20 World Cup this yr in opposition to Australia. After that, coronavirus pandemic compelled all sporting occasions to come back to a halt.
On being requested about how she spent her lockdown days, Shikha mentioned: “The preliminary few days had been a bit tough, however then as soon as I began following my routine, I had a timetable for myself, I’ve been figuring out twice a day, the coach has been actually useful as he has been sending the programmes, I’ve been staying in isolation at Goa Cricket Indoor facility, I’ve spent loads of time with my household, it’s a privilege to be at house for this lengthy.”
The Ladies’s 50-over World Cup is slated to be performed in New Zealand subsequent yr and Shikha opined that the crew would guarantee that everyone seems to be within the peak of their health once they get again to the sphere once more.
Promoted
“I can not actually assess the time I’ll require to get again into form, I’ve been doing my conditioning classes and I’ve saved them as a high precedence, I’ve been doing every thing to be in the very best form attainable. I’m hopeful that now we have the 2021 World Cup subsequent yr on time,” Shikha mentioned.
“I’m actually trying ahead to it, once we get again to the sphere we’ll guarantee that we’re at peak of our health, we’ll guarantee that we’re mentally and bodily match,” she added.
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