Richa Ghosh, a member of the Indian women cricket team who hails from Siliguri, is eagerly waiting to hit the ground, particularly after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said it plans to host a women’s challenger cricket tourney in the United Arab Emirates in November.

The tournament that would be conducted in IPL format is likely to be played in the UAE from November 1 to November 10.

“I am excited after the announcement of the BCCI. Since March this year, we have been out of ground and have not played any match or attended proper practice sessions. The planned women challenger tournament will definitely provide a platform to return to serious cricket,” said Ghosh, who has been staying at her home here since Covid-19 broke out in the country.

It was in March that the Indian women’s cricket team played for the last time.

The team could make it to the finals of the ICC Women T20 cricket tournament that was held in Melbourne. Richa was one of the youngest players of the team with ace opener Shafali Verma and had played in the finals as a concussion substitute for wicketkeeper T. Bhatia.

“I have not been able to practise in the field as everything is closed now because of the pandemic. But I try to maintain my fitness with free hands and practice at home,” she said.

Manabendra, her father and a common face in the cricket arena of Siliguri, has set up a temporary facility at their house at Subhashpally here.

It is there that Richa has been practising every day to hone her batting skills, along with physical exercises, to beat the Covid 19 blues for the past four months.

“We have also watched the recently concluded England and West Indies test series played in England last month,” the young cricketer’s father, who also played cricket at local clubs, said.

Richa pointed out that along with the proposed challenger tourney, there were some other reasons which had left her optimistic to return to the 22 yards.

The BCCI, she said, is also planning to host two more T20 series against South Africa and West Indies before and after the challenger tourney.

The performance of players at these events will be considered during selection of the Indian women’s cricket team that will play in the next T20 world cup that is likely to be held in New Zealand in March next year.

“I am waiting for the day when guidelines would be issued for crickets like us so that we can go out and practise in the field,” Richa said.