Former Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar feels Team India should give young wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh a longer run in the upcoming T20I series against Australia. The youngster has been in and out of the side, but has shown flashes of brilliance and the promise of becoming a world-class explosive batter.
Sthalekar is also impressed with the addition of all-rounder Devika Vaidya to the Women in Blue squad. She feels that Vaidya can also feature in the XI as she can provide some crucial lower-order runs along with her leg spin.
Previewing the T20I series on Cricbuzz, here's what Lisa Sthalekar had to say about Richa Ghosh:
"I hope they give Richa Ghosh a fair amount of chances, now that she is back into the team. Along with Radha Yadav, I feel they can play Devika Vaidya as she bowls leg spin and can also bat."
Bowlers will need to park their egos to be successful: Lisa Sthalekar
Lisa Sthalekar is familiar with the conditions in the two stadiums that will host the series — the DY Patil Stadium and the CCI (Brabourne). The former cricketer feels these are high-scoring grounds and that bowlers from both sides will need to work hard to be effective.
On this, she stated:
"One thing I know about these pitches is that it is a flat hard square and there are a lot of runs in the pitch. So the bowlers will have to bowl well and will need to park their egos to be successful in this series."
Sthalekar also spoke about a couple of bowling options from the hosts that she is excited to have a look at. She said:
"For India, Devika Vaidya is back in the team as she has scored quite a few runs in domestic cricket and can also bowl leg spin. I am excited to see left-arm pacer Anjali (Sarvani) from Railways. She can swing the ball into the right-handers and will definitely cause some problems to the Australian top order."
The first T20I of the five-match series between the two teams will be played at the DY Patil Stadium at 7 pm IST on Friday, December 9.
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