New Zealand ODIs will help Team India to adapt conditions: Jhulan Goswami

Veteran Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami feels that the five-match ODI series against New Zealand will help the team adapt the windy conditions ahead of the Women’s World Cup 2022. The Women in Blue will meet the Kiwis in five ODIs next month, which would mark their last assignment before the gala tournament. Hence, the Mithali Raj-led side would view the series as an opportunity to test their bench strength and identify their best playing XI.

It must be noted that the Women’s World Cup gets underway on March 4 and India are chasing their maiden title. Goswami, who’s the highest wicket-taker in ODIs, might be featuring in her last ICC tournament and is determined to get the glory. The veteran reckons that the team can get used to the local conditions during the New Zealand ODIs.

We will get time to fix our errors before the World Cup: Jhulan Goswami

“We are getting to play New Zealand before the World Cup which is great preparation. It will help us get used to the conditions and weather. It is very windy there and we as cricketers need some time to adjust to the conditions. We, as bowlers, find it tough to bowl against the wind initially,” Goswami was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“Those five games will allow us to get familiar with the pitches and the weather. All matches are going to be important. We have a squad of 18, if we want to rotate our players before the World Cup [that can be done in the ODI series]. We have not played a lot of international cricket, of late. So we will get time to fix our errors before the big tournament,” she added.

Meanwhile, Goswami refrained from commenting on her future plans. “ Well, at this moment the World Cup is priority. We have to go and play good cricket. That is the most important thing. Last four years we have been preparing for this and unfortunately it was postponed. Now the focus is only on this. After World Cup we will see about anything else,” added Goswami.

India squad for 5 ODIs against NZ & ICC Women’s World Cup, 2022: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.

Standby Players: Sabbhineni Meghana, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur.