The Women’s Premier League (WPL) season is set to commence on February 23 at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. Harmanpreet Kaur, the Mumbai Indians captain, participated in a candid discussion during a pre-season press conference on February 16.
The inaugural edition champions, who won in Mumbai last year, now face the challenge of adapting to new conditions in Bengaluru and New Delhi. In a recent interview with PTI TV, Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged the change in playing venues and emphasized the need for swift adaptation to the new conditions.
She stated, “The conditions in Bengaluru will be different than Mumbai. I don’t have much experience of playing in Delhi, so I don’t have any idea how the wickets will fare in Delhi. If we can just quickly adapt to these things, this will show how good we are as a team.”
Harmanpreet explained that the team’s strategy would be influenced by the prevailing conditions, and the composition of the playing eleven would be determined accordingly.
“It is important for any team to have as many good players in the team as possible because then you can pick the best eleven. There is also competition for places among players. We will make our playing eleven according to conditions,” – Harmanpreet further added.
“Keep things simple” – MI Skipper Harmanpreet
Captain Kaur also emphasized the importance of avoiding pressure, keeping things simple, and enjoying success as the foundational elements that led Mumbai Indians to victory in WPL’s inaugural season.
The MI captain quoted, “We just want to do what we did last year, keep things simple and enjoy our cricket. We hope to give all the players clear roles so that they can go out there and perform. I know a lot of eyeballs will be on us this time since we won last year, but last year as well, we didn’t put any pressure on ourselves,”
She further highlighted that the team aims to maintain a positive atmosphere, celebrating success and supporting each other, with team coaches playing a crucial role in fostering this environment.
Domestic players can use WPL to earn India call-up for T20 World Cup – Harmanpreet Kaur
Looking ahead to the tournament, Harmanpreet Kaur anticipates the Women’s Premier League as a platform for domestic players to showcase their skills and potentially gain higher recognition.
With the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled for September-October this year in Bangladesh, Harmanpreet said, “WPL is the kind of platform where domestic players will get opportunities. If they do well here then it means they’re kind of ready for international cricket. It makes things easier for the BCCI [selectors] because you’ve proven yourself at a good level and under pressure. If we get to see good talent and performances here, then it’ll be really good for us [Indian team] to look at such players and give them opportunities while thinking of the team for the T20 World Cup.
“I think players getting such opportunities will want to grab them with both hands because if you can perform here then everyone is looking at you and your performance won’t be wasted, and you’ll get chances going ahead.” – she noted.
Harmanpreet cited the example of Saika Ishaque, a left-arm spinner who gained fame in her maiden WPL season with 15 wickets, earning her ODI, T20I, and Test debuts.
“Last year we saw Saika do well and other players too who were picked later in the team,” Harmanpreet said. “Later on they got opportunities in the Indian team. So it’s a good platform for players because if you do well here, you can get picked [for the Indian team].”
Click Here to get the latest news related to Women’s Cricket. You can also check about Match predictions here. Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates.
