A day after her captain Mithali Raj precited a bright future ahead of her, India Women coach Ramesh Powar too has heaped praise on Sneh Rana for her all-round performances in the just concluded series against England Women. He went a step further and precited her to become a dependable player who could be India’s crisis-manger going into the ODI World Cup and Commonwealth Games next year.
Firstly, her 80 match-saving runs in the Test and then 24 crucial runs at number seven along with a partnership-breaking wicket of Lauren Winfield-Hill in the third ODI that helped India win the last game on Saturday, July 3, made Rana into a charmer of some sort.
“I believe Sneh Rana is the find of this England tour,” Powar said in a video uploaded by BCCI on their official Twitter handle. “I am really happy for her. Being an off-spinner myself, I can see the talent and she looks like a player tailor-made for crunch situations. She completes our search for such a player who can soak up pressure when the big matches and big tournaments arrive,” he added.
The coach however also confirmed that they were not fairly confident about playing her at first but with her hard work in the nets, she made her way into the team.
“The way she was bowling in Southampton, we thought we should give her a chance. It was a difficult decision no doubt, playing two off-spinners in the squad. But she played her role to the core,” Powar said.
Earlier, Indian skipper Mitahli Raj, whit whom the all-rounder added crucial 50 runs for the sixth wicket, was impressed by her too. She believes that Rana has the potential to become India’s finisher, a player that the national team has been in an eternal search for.
“That's a slot we've always looked for somebody who has the shots to clear the field - strong shots all around. And it helps to have a player there who can also bowl. So it's good to have her on the side,” Raj said about her Railways deputy.
The Indian skipper also predicted a bright future for the 27-year-old who made comeback into the side after five years having played her first lot of international games in 2016 itself.
"She's definitely shown that she does have the character in her to be built into a good player. In the current era, in modern cricket, allrounders play a very important role in the composition of the team,” she said.
“I'm sure that she has a bigger role to play for India in the coming years,” she added about Rana who has so far played 9 ODIs, 5 T20Is and a solitary Test for India.