Physically and mentally prepared for the challenge – Aavishkar Salvi on India battling Dubai heat

As part of the ongoing ACC Women’s Asia Cup in the UAE, India will face Hong Kong in their second challenge of the tournament. The Women in Blue started their campaign with an incredible win against Thailand, as the bowlers took complete control of the game. However, the collective failure of the middle and lower middle order was one weak point from the win.

One of the primary challenges of playing the games in Dubai is the extremely sweltering conditions which prevail. The heat and the humidity are overwhelming and that forces cricketers to think differently. Ahead of India’s clash against Hong Kong, India's bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi opened up on how the team has adapted to the weather and how preemptive practice measures have significantly shaped them for the challenges.

Talking about the preparations against the mighty heat of Dubai, Salvi said, “Post England we had a camp in Bengaluru. During that period, we also worked in that weather and then we travelled to Dubai. As we already know that in professional cricket, they will have to handle different weather conditions.”

He further added, “They’re acclimatizing and they are getting used to the conditions. As far as their bowling is concerned, we have built their workload from the camp itself and while they had those practice sessions in Dubai they have had those overs under their belt.”

Highlighting how India are physically and mentally prepared to take on the challenge, Salvi stated, “I think the conditions are hot and humid. But we are already aware of it when we came to the tournament. So accordingly, we have prepared ourselves for the conditions in this tournament, not just physically but mentally as well. We had planned that way and when we came here, we practiced into these conditions. We thought that girls got good exposure on that sort of surface, where they were exposed to the practice sessions.”

He concluded by stating, “I thought they utilized it really well. And getting into the first game against Thailand, I believe the team has acclimatized really well. Against Thailand, both pacers and spinners got the wickets. If you see the scoreline also in the first ten overs, we were almost 100, I think it is about utilizing those conditions well. Whoever utilizes those conditions will be at the better end of the game.”