Reema Malhotra Confident in India’s Women’s Cricket Team for T20 World Cup

New Delhi, September 30: Former Indian all-rounder Reema Malhotra expressed confidence in India’s women’s cricket team ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. She believes that beating Pakistan will not be a challenge for the Women in Blue, who are a superior team in women’s cricket.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is set to begin in the UAE on October 3. India will start their campaign against New Zealand on October 4 and face arch-rivals Pakistan on October 6. The Women in Blue, who reached the semi-finals in the previous edition, are in Group A with Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

In a telephonic interview, Reema Malhotra said that playing against Australia would be more challenging than facing Pakistan. She credited the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for teaching the team to handle pressure better. “In women’s cricket, Pakistan will never be a challenge because of the quality of cricket they are playing. India is a far better side,” she said.

India has a positive win-loss record of 5-2 against Pakistan in Women’s T20 World Cup matches. However, against Australia, India has won only two out of six matches. Reema also highlighted wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh as the “X Factor” for India in the competition.

Reema praised the current Indian squad, which includes a mix of experienced players and all-rounders. She believes this combination can help India lift the trophy. “Looking at the team, this is the best team we have got. There is a mix of experience and all-rounders. This will help India lift the trophy,” she said.

India has faced heartbreaks in previous T20 World Cups, losing to Australia in the final of the 2020 edition and in the semi-finals of the last tournament. Reema feels that handling pressure during big matches is crucial and that the WPL has prepared the team for such situations.

Reema also mentioned that Sri Lanka could be the surprise package of the competition. “I think Sri Lanka are underdogs. They have played some great cricket,” she added.

India’s squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup includes Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, and Sajana Sajeevan. The travelling reserves are Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, and Saima Thakor, while the non-travelling reserves are Raghvi Bist and Priya Mishra.