NEWS
Follow UsWith just a week left for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was upbeat about her team’s chances of lifting the coveted trophy. In the pre-tournament presser before India’s departure for the global event, the Indian skipper insisted that everyone know their ‘roles’ in the setup.
“If I talk about this team, we have a few players who have been playing for a longer time and know their roles really well. I’m quite confident with this team and I can say that yes, it is the best team going into the World Cup [T20 World Cup],” Harmanpreet said in the pre-tournament press conference.
"Pooja [Vastrakar] is doing well and Renuka [Singh] is supporting her really well. She [Renuka] is someone who is always giving us breakthroughs. Arundhati [Reddy] is someone who can always come and bowl a few overs for the team and bat in the deep. I can't compare our bowling line-up with other teams because every team has its own positives and negatives, but I'm quite confident in my team. I know what they are doing and what they are capable of."
After losing the Asia Cup, India held a 10-day camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Indian skipper insisted that there were a ‘lot of areas’ that the team wanted to improve.
“During the Asia Cup, we played good cricket. We have to talk about the entire tournament. There is the one odd game that day things did not go how we wanted. There are a lot of areas where we sit and discuss how we go about it and we are working on that. In the previous camp, we tried ourselves on where we can improve, if next time these kinds of situations come up and hopefully in this World Cup we continue to try and play good cricket,” he said.
On the other hand, the Chairperson of the Women’s Selection Committee, Neetu David, said that Yastika Bhatia, Arundhati Reddy, and others were not picked for the India ‘A’ tour Down Under because the team wanted to strengthen its bench.
“We didn’t pick them because we wanted to maintain the bench strength. The players who aren’t getting the chances but can be part of the time in the future, we decided to pick them so that they can get the game-time to help them develop physically and mentally,” said Neetu David, the Chairperson of the Women’s Selection Committee.
Did the last-minute call to change the venue from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hamper things for India?
“I think it came as a surprise to every one of us. We had specifically gone to Bangladesh and played five T20s over there to get used to the conditions. But things have changed, and it has shifted to Dubai. I think conditions would be similar to here but I just think that start of the season from my experience in the IPL, I think there will be a little bit more bounce on the surface,” Harman said.
Australia are the red-hot favourites heading into any World Cup, and this isn’t too different. But Harman doesn’t want to just view Australia as favourites, insisting that this Indian side ‘can beat anytime any point’.
“Look their team is good no doubt about that. They also know that India is one of the teams that can go really hard on them. I think that is a really positive sign. We know that whenever we are playing against them, we can beat them any day, any time,” Harman said.
“Winning the title for so many years is a great opportunity for us. They know that we are a team that is really good. We just want to play good cricket and be in that frame where we are aware and keep talking about those things that will help us beat them.”
The Indian head coach, Amol Muzumdar, also touched upon the No.3 worry, and insisted that the management has it all figured out.
"I know for a fact that in T20, the No. 3 sets the game up. We have identified [our No. 3] but we will reveal that only closer to our opening game."
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
