On 8 March 2021, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah took to Twitter to declare the first Test for the Indian women’s team in seven years. That match is ready to take place in a little over a week from now in Bristol under the team’s tour of England.
While the tour will also cover 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is, the However main focus in the media has been on the one-off Test, and clearly so, given that this will be the first time they play single in nearly a decade.
Former India skipper Anjum Chopra welcomed the judgment with open arms, approving the excitement that comes with playing red-ball cricket. Speaking to social media in an exclusive interview, the former opening batter had the following to say:
“Donning the whites is probably more exciting. Yes, it gets you the nerves. Because the moment you say that you have to leave the ball and not hit the ball, that automatically is different. So those nerves come in when the day gets closer for you to actually don the whites and actually go out there and bat or go out there and bowl so… then you’re bowling long spells. That kind of nervousness would come in close to the match but I think it should be more exciting rather than nerves for anyone who has played or not played Test cricket.”
Chopra is somewhat of a Test expert in Indian women’s cricket herself, of course. The cricketer-turned-commentator has played 12 matches in the longest formatting, amassing 548 runs at an average of 30.44 with 4 half-centuries to her name.
Given her wealth of knowledge, Chopra would know a thing or 2 about a team’s preparations for a game as important as the one the Indian women are near to play. As far as she is affected, the lack of first-class cricket in the lead-up to the England Test is not a cause for concern as the Indian team has had their share of cricket, albeit in other formats, beginning in the year.
“Playing any form of cricket is always helpful. A cricketer is like a machine. What I want to say is… If there is a machine, you have to use the machine. So, if you’re a player, your job is to play. The machine can be used for like 350 or 360 days with a days’ rest or the overhauling or whatever that requirement happens to be, and the human body also requires a little rest.”
“But barring that, the job is basically to play cricket. Now whether you’re playing first-class or international, the job is to go out and play cricket, and obviously, you learn more each day when you step out onto the park.”
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