India strong contender to win Women’s T20 WC: Reema Malhotra

Former cricketer Reema Malhotra believes the Indian women’s cricket team is a strong contender to win the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, largely because of its strong spin bowling resources.

She said the team is brimming with confidence after winning last year’s ODI World Cup at home and is no longer dependent on one or two players.

The Women’s T20 World Cup will be held in England starting Friday, with the final scheduled for July 5. 

“Winning the ODI World Cup has significantly boosted the team’s confidence. The players now believe they can perform in any conditions and in any format,” Malhotra told ‘PTI-Bhasha’.         

The former all-rounder, who represented India in 41 ODIs and 22 T20 Internationals, said spinners will play a crucial English condition.

“Players like Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav and Shree Charani will have very important roles. Shafali Verma can also contribute with the ball. The warm conditions are likely to assist spin bowling, and if India’s spin attack performs well, the team has the ability to lift the trophy,” Malhotra said. Malhotra, however, did not give much importance to the relative lack of experience in India’s pace bowling unit. While Renuka Singh Thakur, with 63 T20 Internationals, brings considerable experience, Kranti Goud and Nandini Sharma have played just 11 and three T20 matches.