India Women’s fielding coach Abhay Sharma has said that Indian women cricketers are not as athletic and strong as women cricketers from other countries. He will be focusing on the same along with improvement in catching and running between the wickets.
PTI quoted Abhay Sharma saying before entering the bio-bubble in Mumbai “Overall development is needed as far as fielding is concerned. The game is changing, you have to be more athletic. Technically, work needs to be done. What I observed is that a lot of girls are struggling with their throwing techniques.
“If you develop wrong technique in your early days then it troubles you with injuries. Once the technical side is taken care of, then you can build on the strength part.”
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During the home series against South Africa, Sharma observed that South African players were fast on the field.
“This time I will interact with more on a one-to-one basis rather than group and assess what they feel about the game and then try and match up to my expectations. But as of now technically they really need to work hard. What I have noticed in women’s cricket is that a lot of U-19 players are going on to play for the senior team. The workload is more on their shoulders and they are not that strong,” he added.
“We have to accept that there is a huge difference between foreign teams and our girls. The South African girls were more athletic, they cover the ground quicker and they are a little stronger also. What I see that we are standing on technique, we are not standing on strength. We need to be strong on both fronts.”
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He went on to mention that Indian players need to improve their catching and running between the wickets.
“Last series what I saw was there was a lapse in judgment in some cases, maybe because they were playing after a long time. A lot depends on the frame of mind. We will work sincerely on that front. The running between wickets is a huge part of the game. If the team is having good coordination, then you can convert those singles into twos and that is one area where we can add pressure on the opposition,” he further added.
“During the last series also we worked a lot on her fielding. As far as weight loss is concerned, she has really worked hard but just weight loss doesn’t make you a better fielder or a player. We are working on her fielding, things like cutting down the angles and judging the ball early. You will see a big improvement very soon. She is a very sincere girl and does whatever has been told to her.”
He said before concluding “It is a very good and welcome step. However, since the women don’t play red-ball cricket, it will be a challenge. The longest format is always difficult because that is real cricket. It will be totally new experience for most of the girls. I am sure they will enjoy it.”
India Women will travel to the UK, where they will play one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is against England.
