Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav welcome Women's T20 Challenge announcement

India cricketers Jhulan Goswami and Poonam Yadav welcomed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly’s announcement regarding the possibility of a four-team Women’s T20 Challenge during the IPL play-offs.

“I can confirm to you that the women’s IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also,” Ganguly told PTI on Sunday (Aug 2).

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced on February 29 that a four-team Women’s T20 Challenge tournament will be played in Jaipur during the IPL play-offs, but the tournament was postponed along with the IPL in light of the restrictions imposed by the government owing to COVID-19 pandemic. Now the tournament will likely be played between November 1 and 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“This is a great news and I would like to thank the BCCI president for taking the initiative to resume women’s cricket,” Goswami told Sportstar.

“It’s a great thing to have the Women’s T20 Challenge with four teams. It is a fantastic news on a Sunday morning. What else can a cricketer ask for?”

Leg-spinner Yadav joined Goswami in expressing her happiness about the possibility to the Indian side returning to cricket. As per reports Ganguly also talked about the possibility of a series against South Africa in October.

“Everyone was asking me why the women’s team isn’t playing. None of us had answers to that. But I am really looking forward to the season ahead,” Yadav was quoted as saying.

India were scheduled to tour England for a proposed tri-series in late August, but Clare Connor confirmed that India would not be able to travel due to the COVID-19 related travel restrictions in the country.

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Goswami, who has played for India in 260 internationals, believes the decision to expand the T20 Challenge competition to four teams is a step in the right direction.

“Earlier, there were three teams and now, there will be one more team. So, this shows that we are in the right direction. As a cricketer, we are glad to be returning to the ground at the earliest,” said the pace bowler.

It is understood that there will be a preparatory camp ahead of the series against South Africa. The players talked about how they have been trying to keep themselves fit with all the restrictions in place.

“We all have been training on our own,” said Goswami. "So, that’s there, but I am sure there will be a camp prior to the tournament and that would help us get back into shape. Hope things fall in place and we return to action soon.

Yadav said that she trains alone and spoke about adapting to the new protocols that were in place.

“I train alone. I don’t allow anyone to come near me when I am training because it is important to maintain social distancing. We have to deal with it,” said the leg-spinner.

“Even though we wanted to train, there was no ground to train at. The facilities were shut, so it was challenging for sure. But I am glad that we are starting again.”

“It will be initially difficult for sure. With so many protocols in place, it will be challenging to get back into the field. Things will look new. It will not be the same as it was earlier, but then, we have to start somewhere,” she concluded.

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