By Avenash Ramzan
The Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr. K. J. Srinivasa and Mrs. Ashwini Srinivasa on Monday evening hosted the visiting Indian Women’s cricket team at a reception at India House, Happy Acres, East Coast Demerara.
The team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, is in Guyana as part of a three-week Caribbean tour, playing the West Indies Women in three ODIs and five T20 Internationals.
The ‘ladies in blue’ are in Guyana for the final three T20s, the last of which will take place on Wednesday (November 20) at the National Stadium, Providence, starting 18:00h.
The visitors are looking for a clean sweep of the T20s after winning the first four games. They also copped the ODI series, coming from behind to win 2-1.
On Monday night, they put their competitiveness aside and mingled with the High Commissioner and his special guests, obliging a few photos for posterity, while being bestowed with words of congratulation on a successful tour.
High Commissioner Srinivasa described the tour as “a very emphatic and a very victorious tour so far.”
“I have been following this team since my days in South Africa before coming here. I remember in 2017 before they went on to play in the Women’s World Cup they played in South Africa in a quadrangular series and we could see that this team plays to win, and that is one of the big qualities in modern-day sports,” the High Commissioner observed.
“I was at the first match in Guyana (November 14) and I could see why they’re such a potent force.”
The Indian Women have been impressive on this tour, recording six wins on the trot. After losing the first ODI match by one run, they closed out the series by winning the next two games by 53 runs and six wickets.
In the T20s, they have been sublime, winning the four games thus far by 84 runs, 10 wickets, seven wickets and five runs.
The on-field battle aside, bilateral tours like these help to foster camaraderie among nations, something the High Commissioner touched on during his brief, but very informative presentation.
“I also had a very extensive interaction with the West Indies side and I must confess here that during my interaction with the West Indies Cricket Board (now Cricket West Indies) we found that there are so many ways to collaborate, to improve and to help both the teams to flourish. I can see the desire on both sides to help improve and in that I think the BCCI would be very forthcoming to collaborate with the West Indies Cricket Board to help nurture new talents,” Dr. Srinivasa explained.
Head Coach of the India Women’s cricket team, the former Indian Test and ODI all-rounder Woorkeri Venkat Raman, said occasions like the one hosted by the High Commissioner provides an opportunity for them to reconnect with the Indian diaspora while reflecting on their contributions to their adopted homelands.
“These events are not all about rekindling our taste buds, but it’s about getting to meet the people who have come here, who provide an inspiration to all of us…because the Indian diaspora consists of people from India who made it a point to chase their dreams outside the country,” Raman, who played in 11 Tests and 27 ODIs between 1988 and 1997, reckoned.
“It’s not easy to get out of a country you love very much, and the challenges begin the moment you leave and when you get into a foreign country you have to start adopting to various things, you’ve got to work hard and then make an impact. I’m very, very proud that the Indians across the world have done a grand job of not only projecting themselves well, but they’ve also been fantastic ambassadors,” Raman intimated.
He continued, “In terms of travelling on cricket tours, it’s not about just going and playing games. It’s also about learning the local culture, meeting people, exchanging views, (and) getting to know a lot more things about how things happen in this country. That’s an interesting experience.”
High Commissioner Srinivasa presented tokens of appreciation to Coach Raman, Manager Trupti Bhattacharya and captain Kaur, following which invitees took the opportunity have a photo with the players.
