Experience will be different: Mithali Raj on women's team maiden pink-ball Test

New Delhi [India], August 28 (ANI): Ahead of India's tour to Australia, Test and ODI captain of women's national cricket team, Mithali Raj stated that the team will be carrying the confidence of playing in the longer format.

India will be playing their second Test in a span of three months at WACA, Perth. This will also be India's maiden pink-ball Test. Australia's last international assignment was against New Zealand in April. In comparison, India first had a home series against South Africa in March followed by a two-month tour to the UK in the summer.

"We will definitely carry the confidence of playing in the longer format," Mithali Raj said in a virtual press conference on Saturday. "The Test in Australia will be slightly different because we will be playing with the pink ball under lights. The experience will be different because we have never played with the pink ball under lights before."

"I'm sure the girls are following the men's Test in England, where the momentum changes in the longer format. The way we play is how the situation is on the ground, how the game unfolds on a particular day, in a particular session. We don't go in with a set mindset. It's all about how we apply ourselves at that moment."

Talking about the team's preparation for the Test, Indian head coach Ramesh Powar said: "I think we need to understand we are going to play ODIs first. World Cup [in February-March next year] is a very important tournament for us and we're focusing on that. If you see only the one-off Test, we can't go in with a mindset of preparing for that."

"I think it is about taking the one-day confidence into Test. In the last series, the way we came back, without our stars getting their rhythm, I'm confident that we don't have to prepare separately for the pink-ball Test. We back our players in the format, and they are good enough to react to the situation."

India's tour of Australia will comprise of 3 ODIs, one day-night Test match and three T20Is. Earlier on Tuesday, the All-India Senior Women's Selection Committee picked the squads for India Women's upcoming tour. Sneh Rana who gave spirited performances against England in the multi-format series earlier this year has found a place in all three squads. The women's team has been a part of a camp in Bengaluru and will undergo mandatory quarantine after reaching Australia. (ANI)