India women are gearing up to play a Test match for the first time in over 2 years as they take on a power-packed England side from December 14 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Ahead of the much-anticipated return to Test cricket, star batter Smriti Mandhana welcomed the idea of a Women’s World Test Championship, saying the men’s tournament has been exciting and added a lot of context to the longest format of the game.
The World Test Championship was introduced by the International Cricket Council in 2019 in a bid to add importance to the bilateral Test series. 9 teams compete in the World Test Championship with each team playing 6 series over a 2-year period. The top two teams play the big final. India and New Zealand played the final in the inaugural edition in 2021 with the BlackCaps winning the crown. Australia defeated England in the second edition of the World Test Championship final in 2023. The third edition successfully began during the Ashes earlier in the year.
However, the landscape in women’s cricket is vastly different with only India, England, and Australia regularly playing Test cricket. India last played their Test match in September 2021 against Australia. Australia and England meet in the Ashes once in two years.
However, India women are set to host England and Australia in Test matches in a span of two weeks.
“I would love to be a part of the World Test Championship but that is for the boards and the ICC to decide. Having watched a lot of men’s Test cricket and championships it would be really exciting to be a part of something of that sort. But as I said, that would be their (administrators’) decision,” Smriti Mandhana told the press on Tuesday in Mumbai.
‘EXCITED TO WEAR WHITES AGAIN’
India lost the T20I series to England earlier this week but they are heading into the one-off Test with a lot of confidence after having put in a brave show in Bristol the last time these two times met in whites.
Smriti Mandhana, who found form in the final T20I with a match-winning 48 and the left-hander is eager to make a mark in the one-off Test. Smriti scored 78 in the first innings of the Bristol Test.
“A lot of things have changed for women’s cricket, especially post-2017. We could see that change during the T20I series in Wankhede with the kind of crowds that have come in and the support we are getting. Women’s cricket is definitely on the rise. More than that, I am really excited to wear whites at home and go out there and represent India in whites, That’s a different feeling altogether,” Smriti said.
