"They're the sleeping giant in women's cricket," Mott said. © Getty

Australia women's head coach Matthew Mott heaped praise on the current Indian team and reckoned they will be a force in world cricket. Mott particularly talked up India's top order, which he felt has got world-class players. Since turning out in the final of the 2017 World Cup, India women's team has seen quite an upward surge as far as their batting is concerned.

Veteran batter Mithali Raj might be out of favour in the shortest format, but she continues to hold her ground in the 50-over format, having scored at an average of nearly 50 in 17 ODIs post the showpiece event in England. Young Smriti Mandhana has shown improvement in her game since that fateful day, scoring at 67.86 in the 18 ODIs during this phase.

"They're the sleeping giant in women's cricket," Mott told cricket.com.au. "They've got a country that's mad on the game, and in their batting they've already got three or four world-class players. The depth in their batting is outstanding, their bowling's got potential as well and their fielding has improved out of sight.

"They're going to be a force in world cricket," Mott added.

Mott, who was in-charge of the team when Harmanpreet Kaur smashed a jaw-dropping 171 off 115 balls to end Australia's 2017 World Cup campaign in the semifinal, felt the cricket-crazy nation of India is now behind the women's team too since they reached the final of that global tournament in England.

"Having made that World Cup final (in 2017), and they've got a country of a billion people behind them as well, they're going to be a huge force," he said.

India and Australia are also putting in efforts to ensure there's a seamless transition for young players, coming through the ranks, to play at the highest level. The two boards have an agreement to have the A sides play each other once every year. Last year, Australia A toured India in October, while the reverse is set to take place - in Brisbane and Gold Coast - in December this year.

"It's absolutely critical," he said. "If you're going to create a genuine pathway, you've got to give players an opportunity to develop, particularly overseas.

"You don't know how players are going to cope with the extra stress and demand of touring unless they've done it. And it's a huge part of being an international player, adapting to different cultures and venues, travel and play, (those factors) can sort very good players out from the greats," Mott said.