Indian Women’s team left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad believes that the Women in Blue can win the gold medal in the upcoming 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China which is scheduled to be played in September.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the Indian left-arm spinner, holds a strong belief that the Women in Blue have the potential to clinch the gold medal at the upcoming 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The event is scheduled for September. It’s worth mentioning that in their debut appearance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Indian women’s team narrowly missed out on the gold, finishing as runners-up to Australia in the final.
Gayakwad expressed the team’s confidence in securing a gold medal this time. Notably, the Indian women’s team has earned a direct entry into the quarterfinals of the forthcoming Asian Games, courtesy of their ICC T20I rankings.
“Definitely, we will get the gold medal in the Asian Games. We have played against all major opponents in the past, but not to dwell on that much, we have the trust in our team that we are capable of winning and clinching the gold medal,” Gayakwad was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
The 32-year-old couldn’t join India’s Bangladesh tour due to an injury. In that series, led by Harmanpreet, India won 2 out of 3 T20Is and tied 1-1 in ODIs. So far, she has participated in 2 Tests, 64 ODIs, and 55 T20Is for India.
“I was in rehabilitation and on rest during the Bangladesh tour; it was not the case of me being dropped. We have done some great work in the camp. We did not need to work on any specific areas but spoke about improving in those areas where we could have done better and focused only on that.”
“The focus has been on the overall game — from fielding to batting and bowling. The batters, though, tried to work on their stroke-making in particular,” she added.
WPL Spurs Us to Elevate Our Cricket Game: Rajeshwari Gayakwad
According to Rajeshwari Gayakwad, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) pushes the Indian women’s team to take the game more seriously.
“The WPL is a big thing for Indian cricket because it challenges us to take our cricket more seriously and we can improve more because there were not many opportunities in terms of match-time for us.”
“Playing for the Indian team directly from the domestic set-up was the only option, but going forward, there will be more matches which will only result in the betterment of women’s cricket in India,” Gayakwad added.
When discussing her experience of being in the same dressing room as well-known figures in women’s cricket, the 32-year-old mentioned that what she primarily gained was their way of thinking.
“The one thing we learn from overseas players is their thought process, like how do they prepare themselves before a match.”
“Frankly speaking, I do not think about it. The idea is to take it one match at a time. I have not thought about getting here or there,” she concluded.
