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Willow talk
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The new captain of the women's cricket team, Mithali Raj, is all set to lead the squad from the front
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FROM A classical dancer to a cricketer, Mithali Raj has come a long way in the world of women's cricket. From the chirpy, young cricketer first spotted by late Sampath Kumar, who taught her the basics of the game, to being named captain of the Indian women's cricket team for this month's World Cup championship in South Africa, it's been a successful story. Well, there is a refreshing air of frankness and clarity of thought in everything she speaks. She is aware of the great honour and the responsibility thrust on her. But the best part is that she is not overawed by the development but determined not to let down the expectations.
Unlike their men counterparts, it is understandable that women cricketers rarely be able to hog the limelight despite some of the sterling performances on the field. For instance, Mithali Raj's 214 against England in a Test match a couple of years, then the highest score for an individual in women's cricketing history (last year Pakistani Kiran Balucha struck 242 against West Indies in a Test to eclipse the world record), never really gave her the desired recognition but for the initial euphoria. Then the Arjuna Award in 2004 also seemed to have made little change to her lifestyle. Yet, the articulate Mithali continues her pursuit for excellence in her typical indefatigable spirit. For her, the willow should speak and not the words. Named vice-captain of the national team quite early, the captaincy now was no surprise. And it was indeed a special honour for her since the side is packed with a couple of former captains and very experienced batswomen too.
And for her part, inspired by tennis sensation Sania Mirza's performances on the WTA Tour, another Hyderabadi, Mithali Raj hopes to produce something special. "It is a great showing by Sania. She handled the pressures of high expectations remarkably well. And, definitely she is a big inspiration for us. We hope to live up to the expectations by coming up with a special performance in the World Cup," explains Mithali Raj . In the City before joining the team mates en route South Africa, the 22-year-old South Central Railway employee reminds that the 10-day camp in Mysore was essentially aimed at ensuring better coordination and free flow of opinion ahead of the World Cup and not the normal rigorous practice as almost all the members of the squad were either playing in the just-concluded Senior Nationals or featured in the series against New Zealanders recently.
"Batting should be our strong point with the slow bowlers Neethu David, Nooshin and Deepa Kulkarni expected to play a key role in the fortunes of Indian team," says Mithali Raj. She also believes that the experienced batting line-up of Jaya Sharma and Anju Jain in the openers slot with herself coming in at No.3 followed by Hemalata Kala and Anjum Chopra can match the best in the fray. "The best part of our preparations for the series is that we have beaten the Kiwis and have done reasonably well against Aussies though we have not won," she points out.
How does she feel about leading the country? "It is a great responsibility and hope that the team clicks as a unit. Since each one knows what her job is and some of them have already led the country earlier, they need not be told about how to perform," Mithali says. "Personally, I don't think there will be any pressure on me because of the additional responsibility. I will try to play my natural game. Once you are there in the middle, you have to shut out everything else from your kind and focus on the job on hand," she remarks.
For Mithali, it will be her second World Cup and this time around it will be a round-robin affair with the top four teams making it to the semi-final knockout phase. If the confidence level is the barometer to judge the readiness of a sportsperson to take up a challenge, then this young girl from Hyderabad seems to be in the mood to carve a slice of history for herself by the end of this World Cup. For someone who was known very early before she turned 10 to be very good in classical dance, Mithali is all set to make the bowlers dance to the sweet sound of her willow striking them to all parts of the ground.
V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM
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