The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to start on October 3rd. Team India will play their opening match against New Zealand on Friday, October 4. Women in Blue’s next game will be highly anticipated, as they will battle against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 6. After that, India play Sri Lanka on October 9 and the defending champions Australia on October 13.
In the build-up to the marquee tournament, Indian women’s team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur revealed her insights in an exclusive conversation with Star Sports. Pioneering Indian women’s cricketer Harmanpreet also reflected on her journey in the sport, emphasizing the value of leadership and resilience.
In the interaction, Harmanpreet spoke about how diversity in the Indian cricket team’s dressing room fosters a positive atmosphere. The 35-year-old cricketer admitted that all the players in our team come from different states. It feels good when you see so many different characters in the team. People from various states share the dressing room, and you get to learn about their cultures.
I think you can only experience that in sports, not in any other career. It’s a beautiful feeling. All the girls on the team are nice and humble. It feels great to share the dressing room with them and play cricket together.
Harmanpreet also opened up about India’s mental toughness preparations ahead of the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. We have been working on mental strength for a long time. The last 3-4 overs are the most crucial. T20 cricket is not a small format; at the end of the day, you are playing 40 overs. In the last 4-5 overs, the mentally strong team wins the match, she asserted.
We have been focusing on this for a while. If we can remain mentally stable in those final 5 overs, we can execute what’s best for us. We are working on those aspects, and hopefully, we will overcome this hurdle in the tournament, Harmanpreet added.
It has been a beautiful journey. I come from a city where there was no cricket, and playing cricket professionally was not easy for me. But my family supported me a lot, and today, when I look back, it feels good. A lot of people appreciate it. A lot of girls are joining cricket—not just cricket, but other sports as well. At the same time, parents are taking sports seriously. When I started, no one saw sports as a career.
But now, parents want their kids to play well and choose sports as a career. The way parents think has changed, and it feels good to see that. In the past, only a few parents encouraged their kids in sports, but now, regardless of what they do, parents take pride if their child excels in sports. I think that’s a big change, the right-handed batter concluded.
