“I think a championship will come as a big boost to women’s cricket.” Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana calls for the introduction of the World Test Championship
The Indian women’s team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is hosting South Africa led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt for an all-format series that includes a three-match ODI series followed by a one-off Test match and then a three-match T20I series.
Women in Blue recently completed a hard-fought 10-wicket victory in the one-off Test match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, in Chennai. India broke multiple records in the one-off Test match against the Proteas. They became the first team to topple the 600-run mark in Women’s Test matches. The 20-year-old Indian opening batter Shafali Verma smashed the fastest double century in the history of the Women’s red-ball format. Her milestone came in just 194 balls. She also became the youngest Indian to complete 500 runs runs in the red-ball format.
“He has changed our mindset and approach. He knows how to get the best out of each of us. That’s his biggest strength. One of the things I like most about him is that he motivates us a lot, before and during games.” Sneh Rana speaks about the shift in mindset and the positive energy in the setup brought by the newly appointed head coach Amol Muzumdar.
India continued their dominant run in the red-ball format, extending their 18-year-long unbeaten streak in the format since August 2006. Especially in recent times, they have managed to get over the line in the red-ball format against the likes of England by 347 runs and Australia by eight wickets in December 2023 to cap off the year on a high. Many established, former, and current players and experts have voiced their opinions on the introduction of a multi-match Test series and also a potential introduction of the World Test Championship cycle for women, to make it more competitive and engaging.
In the men’s game, the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship took place in the year 2019. It is a two-year cycle after the completion of which the winner is crowned as the World Test Champion. The ongoing edition of the tournament is the 3rd cycle of the tournament. “Of course, women should have a Test championship. We have started playing red-ball cricket in the domestic circuit too [from earlier this year], and we are playing more Test matches now, and getting good results. I think a championship will come as a big boost to women’s cricket.” Indian all-rounder Sneh Rana speaks about the potential impact the introduction of a World Test Championship could have on women’s cricket.
A few days ago former Indian cricketer Sudha Shah called for the introduction of the World Test Championship much like the WTC cycle in the men’s game. She also voiced her opinion for a three-match Test series in the women’s game. As far as the domestic circuit is concerned, the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy was re-introduced in March-April earlier this year and was played in the red-ball format in Pune.
(Quotes sourced from Espncricinfo)