Team India are set to play two home Test matches after a very long time. The team will face England in a Test match starting from December 14 in Navi Mumbai and Australia from December 21 in Mumbai. And, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her excitement for the upcoming test matches in an interview recently.
India haven’t played a home Test since they last played South Africa way back in November 2014. The team last played this format of cricket in September 2021 against Australia as well.
The England match will be tough given the lack of preparation as she is currently having a very tight schedule playing the WBBL. Harmanpreet Kaur won’t leave Australia until her final match of WBBL. She will only have ten days to prepare for the beginning of the three-match T20I series vs England that precedes the Test match that starts on December 14.
Talking to ESPNcricinfo, Harmanpreet Kaur said – “The Test series is something which we are really looking forward to because I haven’t played in front of a home crowd [since 2014], so I am really excited for that”.
“The challenge for us is that we haven’t played with the red ball. We have been playing with the white ball for so many years, even in domestic cricket also we don’t have red-ball cricket back home. So the challenge for us is to make yourself ready in such a short time” she further added.
Currently playing in the Women’s Big Bash League for the Melbourne Renegades, Harmanpreet Kaur discussed her plan to prepare for the test following the WBBL. Right now the schedule is so packed with 14 games in six weeks and immense traveling that it has been difficult to find time. She highlighted the need to dedicate a specific period for red-ball practice due to the considerable differences in the format.
“When I am going back, I have ten days to prepare myself” – Harmanpreet Kaur
The Indian skipper further added – “I had that thought if I can simultaneously do some red-ball practice also, but because it’s such a packed schedule you can’t mix things. We are playing T20 cricket and the Test game is a totally different kind of game, so I didn’t want to mix it. When I am going back, I have ten days to prepare myself”.
Harmanpreet Kaur missed India’s last test match against Australia on the Gold Coast in late 2021 due to a thumb injury. But she said she spent a lot of that match observing how the game unfolded to try and get a sense of how to play long-form cricket and how to lead her side tactically.
Extraordinarily, though, Harmanpreet Kaur will play more home Tests in two weeks in December than she has in her previous 14 years at the international level. The only home Test in her career came back in 2014 against South Africa where she picked nine wickets. She has played one Test match since then and three in her career overall.
The last test match India played ended in a draw with Smriti Mandhana leading India’s batting from the front with a brilliant century. Legendary player Mithali Raj was the captain back then. In the last test match at home, India had beaten South Africa by an innings and 34 runs.
Beyond the test match, India is set to engage in a series of three ODIs and three T20Is against Australia.
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