"His experience will...": Smriti Mandhana hails head coach Amol Muzumdar ahead of Test outing against England
Dec 12, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 12 : India's vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, is ecstatic to play red-ball cricket in front of home fans and stated the importance of having Amol Muzumdar as head coach of the team.
India will face the England women's team in a four-day Test that will kick off on Wednesday. Ahead of the game, Smriti expressed her excitement to don the white jersey, hailed the experience of Amol and said that the team would benefit a lot from it.
"We played our last test in India against South Africa in 2014 and a lot has changed since then. Pay equality was implemented. Spectators are coming to watch matches on the ground so we are all excited to play the Test again in our home. Representing India in whites is a different feeling altogether," said Smriti in the pre-match press conference.
"As an opening batter, my game plan is to see the ball better. We have an experienced coach, Amol (Muzumdar) Sir, who has played a lot of first-class matches. His experience will help us a lot," Smriti added.
India will have to tune their game and add some touches to it as they will engage in a test affair straight after playing white-ball cricket.
The requirements and approach in Test are quite different from those in the wite-ball format. But the southpaw indicated that she won't stress much about the type of shots that she chooses to play throughout the four-day game.
"Most of my Test matches have occurred either just after a white ball tournament or between two white ball tournaments so I don't think a lot about what shots I should play. We will see the ball swing for 2 days and how it goes and we will play accordingly. I don't stress too much about how I should play the ball," Smriti said.
The four-day sole Test between India and England will be played at DY Patil Stadium.
