On the eve of their women’s T20 World Cup opener against New Zealand in Dubai, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said that her side will not be burdened by pressure in their pursuit of a maiden global title.
The 2020 runners-up and four-time semi-finalists are seeking to go all the way in the UAE having been boosted by warm-up wins over the West Indies and South Africa. They start their campaign against the White Ferns in Dubai before matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and reigning champions Australia.
Kaur and co are taking inspiration from the global success of their male counterparts earlier this year and hope they can create more magical memories for their passionate supporter base.
“We know how happy we were when they won the game and how excited the whole country was when they brought the cup back home. We just want to enjoy ourselves and play with no pressure because that’s not going to help you at all,” said Kaur, who in all likelihood will be featuring in her final T20 World Cup.
“That excitement means a lot for us and my message is very simple and very clear: just go there and enjoy yourself because that is something which is going to help you a lot when you’re playing.
“The expectation is straightforward: to bring glory to the country and our supporters who back us to the hilt, no matter which part of the world we play in. The team has a clear vision, and each individual has been given full freedom to prepare in the way which will help the team succeed,” she added.
New Zealand have the edge in the head-to-head record between the sides but have won just two of their last 15 T20I matches. They will, however, be determined to send captain Sophie Devine out on a high, with the all-rounder to focus on leading the ODI side after the conclusion of the tournament.
One of Devine’s career highlights came on the sub-continent in 2016, and she believes the alien conditions may help to level the playing field.
“One of my favourite past T20 World Cup moments was also in the subcontinent, in India in 2016 when we beat the Aussies. We had a fair bit of travel to get to the place we were playing but we just got on with it and had them in some early trouble before managing to get away with a pretty awesome win against a side that was flying pretty high,” she said.
“There hasn’t been too much cricket in the UAE so it will be a real challenge for all the teams around how they adapt, but we are excited to play there. When you’ve got India and Australia, as well as Sri Lanka, it’s going to be a pretty tough pool to progress through, but we certainly love our chances coming up against those sorts of teams,” the all-rounder added.