Punam Raut reveals her admiration for AB de Villiers

The Indian Women’s team is set to start life after their successful World Cup campaign in England where they ended up being the runners-up. Their next international assignment is scheduled for early next year when they travel to South Africa to take the home team in a 3-match ODI and T20 series.

Punam not worried about playing in South Africa

Indian opener Punam Raut, known for her solidity at the top of the order, said that India is aware of the conditions in South Africa as they have toured the country before. The Women cricketers are preparing for the domestic season and will play practice games later in the year before setting off for South Africa.

“We had toured South Africa earlier and so are familiar with weather conditions and wickets (pitches). We have played there, there are bouncy tracks. Our preparations are ongoing.

“Before that we are preparing for the domestic season. Those matches will be used as practice games for the tour. BCCI will conduct a camp before the tour,” she said.

Raut revealed that she admires South African cricketer AB de Villiers, who recently relinquished his ODI captaincy. The Indian opener also said that she will like to interact with the maverick batsman as she admired the way he conducts himself as a player.

“I enjoy the cricket of AB de Villiers, basically the way he handles the pressure situation and carries his team. I would like to interact with him,” Punam told reporters on the sidelines of a Maharashtra government function.

Punam had a sound World Cup scoring 381 runs from 9 innings at 42.33. He hit a century and 2 fifties during the campaign including a crucial 86 in the final of the tournament. Overall, Raut has scored 1567 runs at 32.64 in 53 ODIs for India. She has two centuries to her name and 10 fifties with 109* as her highest score.

Awards galore for the Girls in Blue

Raut was awarded a cash prize of Rs 50 lacs from the Maharashtra government alongside Mona Meshram and Smriti Mandhana, who all play for either Maharashtra or Mumbai.

The performance of the Indian Women side during the World Cup was heartening to see and received the deserved attention back in India. Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi felicitated the entire team after their return from England. Skipper Mithali Raj can be seen in a number of advertisements on the television, a stark contrast to the pre-World Cup times.