The last couple of weeks have been hectic for India’s women’s cricket team as it criss-crossed from one end to another in Australia for the ODI series, before returning home and playing a series against the West Indies.
While the ongoing T20 series is being played at the DY Patil Stadium here, the team will travel to Vadodara on Friday for a three-match ODI series. With hardly any turnaround time, Smriti Mandhana welcomed the decision to play the series in a caravan format – where all games of one leg are hosted at the same venue.
“Knowing the conditions is an advantage. It definitely helps,” Smriti, who took over as the captain for the second T20I, in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, said.
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“The advantage is that you cut down your travel time because as a cricketer in the last 4-5 months, it’s just been back-to-back (matches) and we have just been travelling. So, sometimes it’s also good to be at one place for 10 days, play three matches and then travel to another place for the ODI series,” Smriti said.
Earlier, the women’s team would play all its matches in one venue, but with the game growing, that has changed.
“Now, it’s split up, and I am sure women’s cricket is at a place where it’s growing and that call (of playing across multiple venues) will be taken sooner or later,” Smriti said, adding: “But I think I will let the right people take that call…”