No Junior Mumbai girls at India nets raise eyebrows

Harmanpreet Kaur

It is not just uncertainty over practice grounds and erratic training schedules that the Indian women's team have to cope with in Mumbai. Harmanpreet Kaur's side, preparing for next month's World T20 in the Caribbean, were left high and dry after no player from the Mumbai U-16 girls team reported to bowl at the Indian cricketers during their last four practice sessions at the Brabourne Stadium.

It is learnt that the Indian women's team management wanted U-16 girls to bowl in the nets. However, to their surprise, none of them turned up on any of the days. "It's shocking. To get an opportunity to bowl to India players is always a dream for any budding cricketer. Not turning up shows where their priorities lie. Though the Mumbai U-19 and U-23 girls are busy playing matches, there are no tournaments in progress for U-16 girls. They could have gained so much by bowling to the Indian team. They have lost a major opportunity," a source close to the Indian women's team, told mid-day yesterday.

When a similar request was made for Mumbai U-16 boys, a lot of them turned up despite some players busy with the Vijay Merchant Trophy. "It is hard to understand why the girls did not come for any of our practice sessions," the source stressed. Excessive heat, according to an Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) source, was one of the reasons why the U-16 girls were not sent. "Firstly, there's only a handful of bowlers in the U-16 category. Secondly, the temperature has been soaring in the last few weeks," said the source.

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