Former Indian captain Anjum Chopra lauds International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to postpone the 2021 edition of Women’s World Cup by a year, saying that the postponement of the mega event will give time for teams to prepare better for the tournament.
ICC last month decided to postpone the 50 over World Cup scheduled to take place in New Zealand in February-March to 2022 because of the delay caused by novel coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the former cricketer turned commentator said, “I think somewhere it’s nice for players because now they will get some time to prepare better. Since nobody was preparing so much because everyone was under lockdown. So the preparation was very limited.
“Except for doing some physical fitness activities, nobody was having access to nets, bowling areas or batting pitches. But now because the 50 over World Cup is postponed, the training will be done accordingly. And it’s good for players to get some more preparation time. Because until unless you get back to playing, you don’t know when you will hit form as everyone can’t get that straight away,” she said.
“Also the nice wave has been created and the best vibe is there within women’s game over the last three years. So the brand of play will be keenly watched and it will be a watchful tournament. So everyone will get time to prepare better,” she added.
Indian women’s team last played in the final of T20 World Cup on March 8 against Australia. But since then because of the pandemic, no player was able to participate in any competitive game.
Speaking about the impact of the enforced break on players, the former great said, “It’s tough for the players not to play since March. It’s not ideal because you tend to lose touch, irrespective of your training in the absence of competitive cricket. And since some of the players were on top of their game, so it’s not ideal for them to stay away for such a long period,” she opined.