Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 20 : Former Indian skipper Mithali Raj expressed optimism about the team's performance in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, saying that the conditions in the UAE will give an advantage to the team.
The upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup will start from October 3 onwards in UAE. India will kickstart their campaign against New Zealand on October 4, with the arch-rivals Pakistan clash set for October 6. The Women in Blue, who reached the semi-finals in the previous edition, is placed in Group A of the competition along with Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Speaking about India's chances on Star Sports, "I think I will definitely want the team to do well because, like everybody else, when we get into the World Cup, we want our team to win. The Indian women's team, so far, has not won, other than the Under-19 World Cup. The UAE is, again, in very similar conditions, so we can say that, you know, our team has the advantage. But again, the World Cup means every team comes well prepared."
India has never won the ICC T20 World Cup and the 50-over World Cup. Their best finish in T20 World Cup was the runners-up finish during the 2020 edition of the competition, having lost to Australia by 85 runs.
In 89 T20Is, Mithali scored 2,364 runs at an average of 37.52, with 17 half-centuries in 84 innings and best score of 97*. In 24 T20 WC matches from 2009-18, she scored 726 runs at an average of over 40, with five half-centuries and the best score of 57.
In the T20 World Cup last year, Australia defeated South Africa at home by 19 runs to win their sixth title. Meanwhile, India made it to the semifinals, losing to the Aussies by five runs.
Squad: 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, Sajana Sajeevan
Travelling reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor
Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra.