The Indian women’s cricket team recently achieved historic success against England when they won the five-match T20I series 3-2. This is the first T20I series win by any Indian women’s team on England soil. While the recent series win of the Indian team gave fans a chance to rejoice, veteran player Anjum Chopra also seemed very impressed with this brilliant performance. In a special conversation with us, she especially praised opener Shafali Verma and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana.
Anjum believes that both the batters gave the team a strong start with their game and displayed confidence throughout the series. This victory is a strong sign for Indian women’s cricket. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.
1) What would you like to say about the recent performance of the Indian women’s cricket team in which the team India won the T20 series in England for the first time.
Anjum: I felt very good. I think the way the girls played in the T20 series. In the first T20 when Smriti scored a century. Then in the next T20 when the situation was a little bad, Amanjot Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues did a partnership. Then Radha Yadav also had a good spell. Shefali also had a good performance. It seemed as if every player played responsibly and tried their best to make the team win. It was good to see this approach of the Indian team in T20.
2) Shafali Verma was out of the Indian team since October 2024 but after a stellar performance in domestic cricket and WPL, she was recalled to the team for the 2025 England T20I series. Her performance in the recent series against England was good, especially in the last T20I, in which she played a brilliant innings of 75 runs. How do you see Shafali’s return?
Anjum: Shafali’s confidence must have increased. In the first two matches, she was playing well, but got out early. But in the last matches, she showed good stability in her batting. So she must be feeling good now. This confidence will definitely help for the upcoming season and matches. When a player makes a comeback, he feels as if he is making a debut again and wants to make an immediate impact. I am sure she is working hard on her game. If she continues to play well and the Indian team also continues to perform well, it will be a very good sign for Indian cricket.
3) There is a lot of talk about Smriti Mandhana. Mandhana scored a century in the very first match. With this, Mandhana created history by becoming the first Indian woman cricketer to score a century in all formats of international cricket. What is so special about Mandhana that is making her continuously successful?
Anjum: It is indeed a great thing that Smriti has scored centuries consistently in every format and is scoring runs everywhere. When she scores runs, the Indian team definitely benefits. Also, her impact is clearly visible on the opposing teams. So it would not be wrong to say that it is very important for Smriti to score runs consistently. The more she maintains her dominance in international cricket, the better it will be for her and the Indian team.
4) Sri Charani has been in the news recently. She has taken 10 wickets in just five T20 Internationals so far, including four wickets in the opening match against England. What is your opinion about this young bowler?
Anjum: Sri Charani has used her opportunities well and made a great impact, especially since she is not the only spinner in the team. She is in competition with players like Deepti, Radha and Sneh Rana, yet she is completely focused and confident in her bowling. The improvement in her bowling is clearly visible in every match. In the very first leg of the England tour, she was awarded Player of the Series and took ten wickets, which is commendable. It was even better to see a bowler getting the Player of the Series award in the T20 series. All this is a very good sign for the Indian team and Indian cricket.
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This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
