'Even 160-170 is still not safe' - Veda Krishnamurthy demands bigger scores to compete in CWG 2022

Indian woman cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy believes that a 130-140 score is not enough to compete in women’s T20I cricket anymore. She also said that every player now needs to play attacking cricket and put a big score on the board as India Women’s team get ready for the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham. This is the first time in history that women’s cricket will be a part of a multi-sport tournament like CWG.

The 29-year-old batter has represented India in 124 international matches and has scored over 1700 runs so far. But the right-handed batter last played international cricket back in 2020 and is not part of India’s squad for CWG 2022. She regularly plays domestic cricket for her home state team Karnataka Women. She shared her thoughts on how the T20I game has transformed in the last few years and said that it’s crucial to get a good start in the shortest format of the game.

“In T20s, obviously you need a good start, Smriti and Shafali are two great proponents of that (providing quick starts). It’s crucial. It’s not about who is going to score, everyone has to play attacking cricket (now). You need to put (big) scores on the board. You cannot expect 130-140 will win your matches. The game has transformed in the last few years, Even 160-170 is still not safe. The way people go about the game has changed completely. So you have to put up big scores,” Veda Krishnamurthy said on the Sony Sports channel.

India Women got everything to compete in 2022 CWG: Veda Krishnamurthy

The Indian women’s cricket team, which rank fourth on both ICC T20I and ODI charts, has struggled to compete in world cricket in the last few months. They won the recent bilateral series against Sri Lanka but lost the previous three series against the comparatively stronger teams Australia, New Zealand, and England. They also failed to reach the knockout stages in the 2022 World Cup after winning just three out of seven group stage fixtures. But Veda believes that the current team has prepared well for the upcoming 2022 CWG and can compete at the highest level.

“I think so. They’ve practiced for unpredictability. They’ve been playing a lot of cricket, regardless of where and against whom. They had the World Cup, women’s IPL, and more. The conditions at max will go down to whether you want an extra pacer or not. They’ve got a lot of people who can perform,” Veda Krishnamurthy added.