Indian women’s ODI team captain Mithali Raj and coach Ramesh Powar on Saturday said the side is currently focussed on next year’s World Cup and the tour of Australia will serve as ideal preparation for the mega event.
The Indian team is leaving for Australia on Wednesday to play three ODIs, a day-night Test and three T20Is.
“We need to understand that we are playing three ODIs first and we are focussing right now on the World Cup preparation,” Powar said during a pre-departure press conference, even as questions revolved around the Pink ball Test against Australia. “Regarding the one-off Test match we have to carry our one-day confidence into Test match. We don’t have to prepare separately as we back our players in all formats. We try to inculcate how we should approach every format.”
The Australia tour will begin with the ODIs series, starting with the first game at the North Sydney Oval on September 19, followed by the second and third matches at the Junction Oval on September 22 and 24 respectively.
The women’s 50-over World Cup is slated to be held in New Zealand in March-April next year.
Skipper Mithali said, “We know the areas we needed to improve and we worked and addressed those issues during the preparatory camp in Bangalore. “Whatever results are there in Australia we still have few months for the World Cup. Australia tour is good for us because we are playing against the best, we will also get an idea about the team combination before the World Cup. So Australia tour is a good game plan before the World Cup.”