Competition in Indian team has gone up: Deepti Sharma

Considering the ever-rising competition in India women cricket team, allrounder Deepti Sharma has stressed on the need to constantly evolve and improve game.

Considering the ever-rising competition in India women cricket team, allrounder Deepti Sharma has stressed on the need to constantly evolve and improve game.

“The Indian team has entered a stage where each one of us has a lot to prove, and as an allrounder, I have a lot of work to do in every department because the competition has gone up,” Deepti told ESPNcricinfo.

One of the areas which the 22-year-old must be targeting is her batting which hasn’t achieved the desired level of success. A year ahead of the T20 World Cup, she is willing to put in the hard yards and ready to bat at any position.

“I back myself as an allrounder and batting-wise, I have prepared myself to go in anywhere. If the team wants to use me as a floater or gives me a designated position, I am happy fulfilling any role they assign,” she said.

Deepti holds the record for the highest ever ODI score by an Indian woman and is also the youngest bowler from her country to pick up a five-wicket haul in the format.

She has been working on changing her batting approach that will help her suit any potential role. “I tried to adopt a slightly more aggressive approach because if at any point the team wants me to perform a role in that mould, I should be able to do that. My strength is playing in the V, but I’ve been trying to get more confident in other scoring areas too, with the slog sweep, the lofted strokes,” she said.

Deepti will join fellow Indians Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, and Jemimah Rodrigues at the KIA Super League, making her debut. And she is hoping the stint will help polish her game further, taking inspiration from Harmanpreet.

“Smriti becoming the Player of the Tournament [in KSL], becoming the leading run-getter last year, showed that Indians can not only do well, but excel. The way her consistency improved after that brief lean patch, it’s been very encouraging for all [of us in the Indian dressing room]. She’s kept scoring runs and, as ever, kept her composure while batting, which I admire in her,” she said.