India Must Regroup Quickly, Says Mithali Raj

India Women’s team skipper Mithali Raj on Saturday (July 21) has urged her teammates to regroup quickly, days after head coach Tushar Arothe stepped down from the top-brass post.

Meanwhile, Arothe resigned following a clash with the senior players over training schedule. He had a bitter ending as India had an unsuccessful 2018 Asia Cup campaign while losing to Bangladesh twice.

Veteran batter Mithali said when they start training next week, the main job will be to prepare well. She also admitted that it’s a part and parcel of a sportsman’s life so she didn’t want to talk about it.

“When we meet at the camp here in a week, the first thing to do is regroup,” Mithali said.

 

“These things are part of a sportsperson’s life. You should know your priorities. You have a tour coming up. There is World Cup to prepare for. So I wouldn’t dwell on this much,” she added.

However, this wasn’t the first time the management brought a change, not in an ideal manner.

Previously, Purnima Rao had to resign two months prior to the ICC World Cup. Now, four months are left before the World Twenty20 will be held on the Caribbean shores.

“I cannot say much. When it comes to management decisions, the BCCI is the sole authority. Why they take certain decisions, only they can answer,” Mithali asserted.

 

I wouldn’t want to divulge anything from the meeting which happened in the boardroom. But as a senior, I can only see to it that whoever is coaching, I would not go against him or her. As a player, I will look up to the coach to help the team and keep it together,” she added.

Need to win: Mithali Raj

Indian women’s team have a limited-overs series lined up against Sri Lanka after the 10-day camp and Mithali hoped for better results.

“Sri Lanka tour is very important. ODIs carry points and it is important for us to win. The five T20s will help us gain the confidence which we lost a bit after the Asia Cup. We need to win so that when we get to the World Cup we are confident and go in with a lot of positivity,” she concluded.

Also read: Kedar Jadhav to start practice in next two-three weeks