After guiding India to last year’s ODI World Cup title, captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes her team can build on that achievement by aiming for victory in the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, set to take place in England later this year.
India ended their long wait for a Women’s World Cup crown by defeating South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai, and the defending ODI champions are now focused on securing their first title in the T20 format.
“We’ll try our best (to win the T20 World Cup),” Harmanpreet said on the sidelines of a ceremony where a stand was named in her honour at the Omaxe Stadium in Dwarka. “The last World Cup gave us confidence, and now we have the belief that we can win the World Cup anywhere in the world.”
The India skipper also recognised the contributions of earlier generations of women cricketers in shaping the sport’s growth in the country.
“Not just our team, but all the women cricketers before us have put in immense effort, often even spending from their own pockets. So, winning a title was very important. And after achieving that, the response we are getting from Indian fans, the media, and everyone else is very significant for us,” she said.
India’s recent multi-format tour brought mixed results. Although the side began with a victory in the T20I series, they ultimately lost the overall contest on points, 4–12, following defeats in both the ODI series and the one-off Test.
Reflecting on the experience, Harmanpreet emphasised the value of competing across formats within a single tour.
“Such a multi-format series should happen because it gives you many challenges. After every week, you have to play a different format, so I think this is a totally different experience,” she said. “As cricketers, we have never gone through such an experience. Earlier, we mostly played either T20s or ODIs, but playing all three formats together was a bit challenging.”
