Smriti Mandhana’s calmness gives India confidence, says Deepti Sharma

Deepti Sharma praised Smriti Mandhana’s calm demeanour as she began her tenure as India’s full-time T20I captain against Zimbabwe. Young batter Anushka Sharma also spoke about the team’s aggressive approach and her readiness to bat at No. 3

Raipur: Senior all-rounder Deepti Sharma has praised Smriti Mandhana’s calm demeanour as the left-handed opener begins her tenure as India’s full-time captain in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, which started on Friday.

Deepti has played alongside Mandhana for years in the Indian team, which is beginning preparations for next year’s Champions Trophy.

“The best thing is that she stays very cool and calm. That gives you a positive feeling whenever you’re playing.

“We’ve played so many matches before, and even when she was the vice-captain, there was a lot to learn from her, and we used to share our points of view as well. Now, seeing her captain the team on the field will be really nice. The whole team seems to be in good shape, and we’re looking forward to it,” Deepti said in a pre-game chat with the broadcasters.

India are facing Zimbabwe in women’s T20Is for the first time, and Deepti said the team would look to carry forward the momentum from its recent successes — winning the Asia Cup in Dubai and retaining the Asian Games gold medal in Japan.

“Look, we’re playing Zimbabwe for the first time, and it’s good to see that they’ve done really well in their recent series. We’re also playing against them for the first time, so our focus will be on carrying the same confidence from our last two tournaments, the Asia Cup and the Asian Games, into this series. That will help us a lot,” she said.

Asked about her personal goals for the season, the off-spin bowling all-rounder said she was keeping things simple.

“As an all-rounder, the focus is on both. I mean, my focus is on how much better I can get in all three departments every day and series by series. My approach is simple; I don’t think too much about other things. I just focus on helping the team win as much as possible with my all-round performances.”

Young batter Anushka Sharma, who is set to bat at No. 3 in the absence of the injured Jemimah Rodrigues, said the team had been working on an aggressive brand of cricket during training.

“The focus has been on playing aggressive cricket overall. And we’ve been doing this in our training sessions as well. So let’s see.

“I personally feel I’m a very versatile batter. I can play in any situation, and according to the demand of the team, that’s it.”

Asked about her goals for the series, Anushka said: “Just to fulfil whatever the team demands from me, that’s it.”

Anushka, who made her T20I debut against South Africa earlier this year, impressed in India A’s 2-1 series win over Australia A and hopes to carry that form into the Zimbabwe series.

“The tournament was great for us. We won 2-1. And I would like to just continue with that form and fulfil what’s the demand for the team.”

She also expressed excitement about playing under Mandhana’s leadership.

“I mean, everybody knows that she’s a legend of the game and the experience that she carries. She was the vice-captain for almost 10 years. And now we’re very excited. And I’m personally very excited to play my first game under a captaincy.”