The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team is ready for the upcoming women’s T20 World Cup. The Indian women’s team captain admitted that they have been really inspired by the men’s team after their triumph at the T20 World Cup 2024. Harmanpreet Kaur said that there is a lot to learn from the Rohit Sharma-led team who held their nerves till the end to clinch victory from the jaws of defeat in the final against South Africa.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced India’s squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup on August 27, Tuesday. The Women’s Selection Committee picked India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC event, set to be held in the UAE. The ninth edition of the tournament will be contested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the 3rd to the 20th of October in Dubai and Sharjah. India are in Group A along with Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
India women’s recent performances in ICC Tournaments
For the unversed, the Indian Women’s team lost to England in the final of the ODI World Cup in 2017 and then went down to Australia twice – in the final of the T20 World Cup in 2020 and then in the gold medal match at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham two years ago. India lost to Australia again in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup last year.
Team India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur aims to mirror the success which their male counterparts achieved after years of heart breaks. Similarly, the coveted ICC trophy also eluded Indian women’s as they finished as runners-up in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2017 and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
Harmanpreet Kaur-led women’s team draws inspiration from Indian men’s team for T20 WC
India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur has said that her team will look to draw inspiration from the Men in Blue as they prepare for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Harmanpreet asserted that the women’s team can learn from the performance of Rohit Sharma and co. during the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, particularly the approach in tough matches.
The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup will be held in the UAE from October 3 to October 20. Team India’s squad for the ICC event was announced by the BCCI on Tuesday, August 27.
At an event in Delhi, Harmanpreet Kaur shared her thoughts on the triumph of the men’s team in the 2024 T20 World Cup and how it will inspire the women’s team during their T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE. The India Women’s captain said (as quoted by ESPNCricinfo):
“We have been really inspired by the men’s team, the way they won the T20 World Cup this year. They worked really hard for this trophy and won some tough matches. We need to learn how they maintained their body language for such matches and how they approached such games.
“We’re on the same road now and getting ready for our World Cup campaign. The team is working really hard, and our attempt will be to give our country and fans another opportunity to celebrate this year,” the 35-year-old added.
The Indian Women’s team reached the semi-final of the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa but went down to Australia by five runs.
India gears up for women’s T20 World Cup 2024
India find themselves in a tough group in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup. They are in Group A along with Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
The Women in Blue dont have an impressive record against Australia in ICC events and also lost the Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka. Harmanpreet Kaur, though, asserted that India will go into the tournament fully prepared.
“The World Cup is a kind of tournament for which all teams prepare differently. So no team can be taken lightly, and, similarly, no team should be overestimated either. Bilateral series have a different kind of pressure, and, for World Cups, there is pressure as well as expectations and hopes of fans,” she said.
“We are working extremely hard to live up to those expectations. We have been holding camps where all players are working hard. We have also worked on the mistakes we made the last time. Now we’re ready with a positive mindset,” Harmanpreet Kaur added.
The final will take place on October 20 in Dubai. Harmanpreet Kaur’s India will face Fatima Sana’s Pakistan in the marquee clash on October 6 in Dubai. India will also face New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Dubai on October 4 and 9 respectively. India also faces strong Australia on 13th October 2024.
India squad for Women’s T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk.), Yastika Bhatia* (wk.), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil*, Sajana Sajeevan
Travelling reserves: Uma Chetry (wk.), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor
Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra