Bangladesh national women’s cricket team does not worry about the opponents anymore said the side’s assistant coach Devika Palshikar. According to the former India cricketer, the change has come under the guidance of Bangladesh coach Anju Jain.
The Tigresses recently made headlines by first winning the ACC Women’s Asia Cup 2018 followed by a series win against Ireland and recently finished as champions in the ICC Women’s World T20I qualifiers in Netherlands.
The Bangladesh women’s cricketers have currently started their training camp at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium for the ICC Women’s World T20I, which happens in Novermber this year. The Tigresses will undergo fitness and fielding training and return to business after Eid-ul-Adha holidays for skill practice.
“They no more think of the opposition. They focus more on how they can perform well. We want to hold onto that mentality and not worry much about who we are playing against,” said Devika to the media at the SBNCS on Tuesday.
Bangladesh’s biggest improvement in recent times has been with the bat. Devika, who took the Bangladesh job in April this year, believes the improvement has come from the freedom the cricketers now have.
“There are 2 to three batters who are able to hit during the powerplay. They might have lacked confidence but now the coach (Anju Jain) has given them the freedom and they have reacted well to that. We saw sixes in last few matches which is a good sign. We are focusing on that as hitting six to seven sixes in the game gives you an edge,” the former India all-rounder explained.
“We are not worried about their batting or bowling but it’s their fitness. Fitness helps in running between the wicket and also gives you confidence. We need to improve on converting singles to doubles,” she added.
The fielding of the players is a worry, informed Bangladesh assistant coach Devika who sees no other option than hard work to make it right.
“The girls are doing majority of things right at the moment. We have scored 140 runs and more in the world T20 qualifier and also defended small totals. But there is a room for improvement with fielding. We have dropped catches at times and that can happen in a game. We are working with the fielding as it makes a difference in the smallest format of the game,” said Devika.