Indian Women’s team needs more support staff says coach Tushar Arothe

The Indian Women’s team had put up an incredible performance in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 in the UK. The eves qualified for the finals after a display of some wonderful performances throughout the tournament, but couldn’t cross the line in the final and fell 9 runs short of the historic title.

However, the girls have still made the nation proud after a fighting performance in the final against England on Sunday. Everyone back home in India, cheered for the ladies to do well in the event. Their skipper Mithali Raj and coach Tushar Arothe were very pleased with the performance of the team in the big tournament.

Lack of experience

Arothe who is a former Indian all-rounder has not been around with the Women’s team for a lot of time, as he was appointed the coach in April earlier this year. He replaced former Indian Women’s team captain Purnima Rau. He was the head coach and fielding coach in the past as well from 2008 to 2012. Arothe termed the lack of experience as one of the reasons that cost the girls the title.

“Due to lack of experience and panic we could not finish it off (in the final). The team was down after the final and for the first two days, no one spoke. Now they have become a bit normal. I hope we can pick up from here and move on,” he said.

“I told the team after the match that we are aware of our shortcomings. I asked them to get fitter and we will work on the fielding and fitness. Skill wise, we are No. 1,” added the former Baroda player.

Sports psychologist is important

In the modern day game, it is very difficult to cope with the enormous pressure of performance as the game is growing demanding by the day. This is where the role of a sports psychologist comes into play. A sports psychologist is very important individual for a team in modern day cricket.

“We may need a sports psychologist for the next tournament and BCCI will help us with that. From here we have to know to handle such situations better,” Arothe told India Today.

Individual performances

The coach was quite impressed with the Women’s team performances in the whole tournament. They fought with pride and honour throughout the event. He termed that all the girls contributed well with their own ability in the dream run.

“Harmanpreet’s knock in semis was one of the best I have seen in my life and that’s why we reached the final. If not for her knock, to beat a team like Australia was very difficult. Her batting put Australia on the back foot,” Arothe said.

Women’s IPL would be a great opportunity

The India Women’s team coach feels that a Women’s IPL should be organised for the girls to showcase their talent. Earlier, captain Mithali had also supported WIPL as a great opportunity for the Indian team.

“If women’s IPL happens, it will be great. Harmanpreet and Smriti benefited a lot from Big Bash. Smriti got only two knocks in the tournament but won us those games and Harmanpreet won us the semi-final,” said the head coach.

He also talked about the preparations of the team for the future. “Our preparation tournament in South Africa worked well for us. We have learned a lot from the game in England. We have to take positives and move forward,” Arothe added.