Indian women’s team allrounder Deepti Sharma on India vs Pakistan handshake controversy | Cricket News
NEW CHANDIGARH: The Indian men’s cricket team’s decision to not shake hands with the Pakistan players after their group match in the ongoing Asia Cup has stirred a controversy. Ahead of the second Women’s ODI at the PCA Mullanpur Stadium here, asked whether the Indian women’s team will follow suit in their 2025 WODI World Cup match against Pakistan on Oct 5 in Colombo, ace allrounder Deepti Sharma said, “That match is a long time away. I haven’t thought about it. When that match comes, we will see what we have to do. I’m not thinking much about the Asia Cup. We are focusing on this series.”Left embarrassed by the eight-wicket hammering at the hands of the mighty Australia in the opening women’s ODI on Sunday, India would be hoping for an almost miraculous bounce-back which enables them to level the series in the second match of the series at the PCA Mullanpur Stadium here on Wednesday.Another loss will see India not only lose the series, but also be a big dampener to their confidence, which was actually high after their successful tour of England ahead of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, which is now just a fortnight away.If they are to end their long wait for an elusive ICC trophy, India must slay their demons against Australia. “It’s not like there’s a vast difference between them and us. Even the smaller teams are doing well. Winning and losing is a part of the game. When we take the field, we play with the aim to win,” said India’s ace allrounder Deepti Sharma on Tuesday.If they even remotely hope to end their losing streak in this format against Alyssa Healy’s side, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. need a massive turnaround in their bowling and fielding effort in the second match. Most importantly, India must rediscover the sort of zing they showed in their fielding during the England tour, when they took some brilliant catches and pulled off a few run-outs. On Sunday night, their poor fielding came back to haunt them. Their atrocious show in the field was highlighted by four dropped catches.Asked whether India faced a problem in fielding under the lights at this venue, which was making its international debut, Deepti said, “No, there was no such problem. We’ve fielded well in the last few series as a unit. There can be an odd day when a team makes mistakes. We don’t focus much on that. Whatever has happened in the first match, we have taken a few positives from the things in which we’ve done well. We’ll carry that forward in the second ODI.”Prodded to spell out those ‘positives,’ Deepti said, “The batting partnerships that we had and the little things that we did well in the first ODI, we will carry that forward.”India also seemed to have clearly erred tactically by playing four spinners on a pitch which had nothing in it for the slow bowlers. The biggest disappointment was the poor show of Deepti, as the most experienced bowler in the side went wicketless while conceding 59 in 10 overs.Did dew, which arrived in the night, hurt India’s spinners? “There was dew, but we can’t say that (dew was a big factor). Sometimes, as a bowler, it happens that you want to do well, put in your best effort, but it doesn’t work out that way. The idea is to learn from that and do well next time. I don’t focus much on whether I got a wicket at that time or not. My thought process is about taking a wicket. I hope that we can see that (her taking wickets) in the rest of the matches,” Deepti said.With the ODI World Cup approaching fast, India need to give game time to seasoned pacer Renuka Singh Thakur, who has not played an international match for the last nine months. Renuka was seen bowling in the nets during the first WODI, which means that she could finally return to action on Wednesday. “She’s fit,” Deepti said.
