New Delhi, Feb 11 Harmanpreet Kaur-led Team India have begun their preparations for the upcoming multi-format away series against Australia, with newly appointed strength and conditioning coach Nicholas Lee expressing his excitement about working with the world champions and testing themselves against one of the best sides in women’s cricket.
The Women in Blue arrived in Australia earlier this week for the multi-format series, which begins on February 15 and features three T20 Internationals, as many One-Day Internationals, and a one-off Test.
Lee, who recently joined the Indian setup, will undertake his first assignment with the team during this tour and said he is eager to both contribute to and learn from the squad.
"I've never worked with a world champion team. So I'm really looking forward to what I can learn from the girls, as well as what I can help them with. I'm really looking forward to the next few years," Lee said in a video shared by BCCI Women on X.
He also spoke about his early impressions of the squad, highlighting the energy within the group, saying, "I haven't had a huge amount of time with them, but I can tell that Rodrigues is going to be plenty of energy. She seems pretty bright and pretty chirpy. But I've been really lucky with the players I've worked with previously."
Lee emphasised the importance of managing workload and recovery, particularly after the long journey from India to Australia. The team initially focused on light gym and recovery sessions to combat jet lag, then gradually built up to high-intensity training as they geared up for the challenging series.
“Coming from India to Australia, there's quite a significant time difference. So it takes a few days for the body to adjust, and sleep is incredibly important. So the first couple of days we've been here, we've just taken it quite easy. Done some recovery sessions and some light gym sessions, and now they're just starting to build up into some high-intensity training.
“When you play in cricket, you want to play against the best teams in the world. And obviously, Australia, consistently for a number of years, has been one of the best teams in women's cricket. So it's always that's who you want to be challenging yourself against. And the chance to come to Australia, I've been lucky, I've been to Australia a few times in a men's game. And now to come and see Australian women play Indian women would be fantastic,” he added.
With Australia having dominated women’s cricket in recent years, the upcoming contest presents a significant test for India. Under Harmanpreet Kaur’s leadership, with a renewed focus on fitness and conditioning, the team aims to deliver strong performances across all three formats in what promises to be a closely watched tour.
--IANS
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