Mumbai: Captain of the Indian women’s limited overs cricket teams, Harmanpreet Kaur is excited about playing in the UAE for the first time. Harmanpreet Kaur and is looking forward to come out of the long break and headline the Women’s T20 Challenge. The Women’s T20 Challenge or the Women’s IPL will be played along with the men’s event in November.
The women’s tournament was confirmed by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly last week. The Indian team have not played since T20 World Cup final in March. The event will have three teams with four matches expected to be played from November 1 to November 10.
Hamanpreet excited
“Yes definitely (I’m excited for the Women’s Challenge). This will be the first trip to Dubai for most of us. We haven’t played there before,” Harmanpreet said during a webinar, Wednesday. She was named as the global brand ambassador of ‘WTF Sports’, which launched an app in India.
Not perturbed by conditions
The T20 skipper is not perturbed by the conditions in the UAE. The event is also clashing with the Women’s Big Bash in Australia. It remains to be seen how many star foreign players turn up in the UAE.
“I had questions like how the wickets would be. We need to play to our strengths. If you don’t play to your strengths, then your natural game doesn’t come out,” Harmanpreet, who has played 114 T20s and 99 ODIs, said.
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According to Harmanpreet, the players would like to make most of the opportunity. “I hope that we grab the opportunity that we get. We are equally excited for the women’s IPL (Challenge) like the men’s one. I hope we play good cricket in the four games and entertain everybody,” added the dashing batswoman.
Mental well-being crucial
Harmanpreet asserted that after a big break, it is the mental strength which is a key for any player. Cricket in the country has come to a grinding halt since mid March due to outbreak of COVID-19.
“When there is a long break and after that however good touch you are in, you start doubting yourself. Mental strength helps in such cases,” pointed out the skipper.
Fitness matters
According to Harmanpreet, players have worked on their fitness in the forced break. It would come handy when training resumes.
“Initially, I might have fear of injury but we have the advantage of working on our strength while at home. Those things are going to help us on the field. But physically we have tried to keep ourselves fit during this lockdown,” she signed off.