Hong Kong is the only team participating in the ongoing Asia Cup here in the UAE that has a woman manager. The team is being managed by former cricketer Smita Chhetri. Incidentally, she is also managing the media here.
Speaking exclusively, she said, “managing men’s national team was one of the best opportunity I got from Cricket Hong Kong. So far I do not see many challenges managing them as I have known them for a long time and we get along very well. I try to stay strict with them when during matches and training but otherwise we have fun and pull our legs more!””I wouldn’t say its very easy to manage a men’s team but it’s not difficult as well. I am very experienced with high-performance logistics behind the scenes and being a manager for the same for the first time has been an extraordinary experience. Sometimes I fall behind managing time between usual team managers duties and at the same time coordinating with media but I won’t complain because I am having so much fun”.
I had played for women’s U19 in 2008 and followed by T20s being a manager and player is totally different. As a player, we only had responsibilities to play, eat and have fun. We were very young at that time as well. When I look back and compare it now, I am very thankful to Cricket HK for the amazing opportunity. Its equally fun to travel as a player and manage the team”, the 32-year-old Nepal-born Smita signed off.
Later, Ravi Nagdev, the Cricket HK General Manager, speaking from HK, added, “she is a bright, responsible and hard-working young woman. I think she has all qualities that it takes to be a team manager. The gender even does not come into the picture”.
Be the first to comment