Increasing expectations are good for Women's cricket: Harmanpreet Kaur

Ahead of the T20 World Cup in West Indies, Indian Women's team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur writes discusses various matters in an article written for ICC

Indian Women’s Cricket team achieved a special place in the hearts of Indian cricket fans after their heroic stint in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. Despite losing the finals to host England by mere 9 runs, they were welcomed back at home with open hearts. With all these love, support and expectations, the Indian eves are all set to participate in the ICC Women’s World T20 starting from November 9 in the West Indies.

Ahead of the major World T20 tournament, Indian women’s T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has stated that the increasing expectations from the fans are good for the team. In an article written for the ICC, Harman penned, “Now the expectations will also increase, but that’s good for the team as well. It means we will get a lot of support from back home. And we can see that with the other teams too. Each team has more fans as compared to a few years ago, and that’s because everyone is playing well.”

The Indian skipper went on to describe the level of competition they would face in the West Indies. She stated, “In the past, we would see a few teams dominate others in T20 cricket. Now every team has two or three hitters who can change the game at any moment. You just can’t take anyone lightly. So I think the ICC Women’s World T20 2018 will be a good tournament, and an important tournament, especially for India. If we play well as a team, we can hope for a good performance like last year.”

The Indian team has already analysed the West Indian condition ahead of their next mission and they are expecting ‘slow tracks’ in the tournament.

“Judging by scores in their local tournaments, the pitches seem to be a bit on the slower side. All of our matches are in the afternoon, so dew should not be a factor for us as much, but if it’s there, there may be a bit of grip in the evening,” Harman wrote.

India have been placed in Group B alongside the teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland. They will play their first match against arch-rivals Pakistan on November 11 at Providence Stadium, Guyana.