Women’s captain Harmanpreet and coach Muzumdar say they are ready to fly high at ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and clinch elusive silverware
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur signs the iconic 2017 ODI World Cup semi-final-winning photograph during India’s T20 World Cup pre-departure press conference at Wankhede yesterday. India finished runner-up after a narrow nine-run defeat to England in the final at Lord’s
Though India are yet to lift the women’s ICC T20 World Cup trophy, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and head coach Amol Muzumdar reckon that they are well prepared for the ninth edition starting in UAE on October 3.
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India will begin their campaign against New Zealand in Dubai on October 4.
“We are absolutely prepared for anything and everything. All I can say is that we are ready to fly into Dubai,” Muzumdar said during the team’s pre-departure press conference on Tuesday in reply to mid-day’s query about India’s realistic chances in the tournament.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar addresses the media. Pics/Ashish Raje
Middle-order batter and off-spinner Harmanpreet, 35, who has represented the country in all the previous eight T20 World Cups, echoed the same feeling. “I totally agree with [Muzumdar]. For us, preparation matters a lot. We want to win the World Cup and are looking for positive results. At the same time, process matters a lot and in the last couple of weeks, we worked hard and are looking forward [to the event],” remarked Harmanpreet. Except all-rounders Shreyanka Patil and Sajana Sajeevan and leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, who will be playing their maiden World Cup, all other players have figured in the high-pressure tournament.
“We have few players who’ve been playing for a longer time. I’m quite confident with this team and I can say that this is the best team you’re going to work with,” said Harmanpreet.
However, the same Harmanpreet-led team lost to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final at Dambulla on July 28. When asked about the areas of concern, Harmanpreet said her players won’t repeat those mistakes in UAE.
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“We played real good cricket in the Asia Cup. That day things didn’t go according to the way we wanted. But yeah, there are a lot of areas where as a team, we sit and discuss how we have to go about it. We are working on that.”
While elaborating on the team’s preparations during a 25-day camp held at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore recently, Muzumdar said: “We did identify a few things and then we went about it in the subsequent camps, which followed the Asia Cup. We had a fitness camp at the NCA and a fielding camp. It was specifically done for those two areas where the skills weren’t touched. But later on, we had a 10-day skill camp where we only [worked on] skills and played matches. We identified certain things and tried to deliver.”
Fielding plays a vital role in T20 cricket and Muzumdar said it’s a work in progress.
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