Harmanpreet Kaur wants to give memorable farewell to Jhulan Goswami in England

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 30 : Indian ODI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday said that on the England tour, she wants to give a memorable farewell to pace veteran Jhulan Goswami who was her captain when she made her ODI debut back in 2009.
"When I debuted, she was the captain and it is a great opportunity for me to lead the last ODI she plays. We will be trying to create some great moments for her so that she can take back good memories from it," said Kaur in a press conference.
Goswami, a 39-year-old veteran will bid farewell to international cricket after the third ODI at Lord's. She had previously played in ODI World Cup earlier this year but had missed India's final group stage match against South Africa due to injury, after which she missed the tour to Sri Lanka. After this, she was recalled to the side.
Harmanpreet said nobody can fill her (Goswami's) place, recalling how she used to practise hard.
"She bowls two-three hours, which hardly a few do. She is a great example for all of us. There are many who have started playing by looking at her. Even I looked at how she prepares before games and her mindset before a match is learnt from her. I am lucky to have seen her, worked closely and spent time with her," she said.
India will play three T20Is and three ODIs in England starting September 10, 2022.
Harman is in favour of playing six batters in the playing XI. Kiran Navgire has received her maiden national call up while Dayalan Hemalatha has returned to the side.
"I feel no matter whatever format you are playing, you need to have six batters in the side. Having two-three pure bowlers and two-three all-rounders can give you a great balance to the side. We have a couple of new players to fill those areas we lacked in, like in the slog overs, when you need 10 runs or more per over," she said.
She is impressed by Navgire's batting in the Women's T20 Challenge held earlier this year.
India has shuffled their wicketkeepers since ODI World Cup this year, with Taniya Bhatia being a part of its white-ball teams. She pipped Richa Ghosh as the second keeper during CWG 2022 but Ghosh has made her return to the T20I squad for the tour of England and Yastika is only playing in ODIs.
"If we talk about both the formats, the role of keepers are different. In ODIs, you need someone who can bat longer, and in T20Is you need someone who can start quickly. That is why we are trying two different keepers in both formats. We are giving opportunities to them and we need to give them time so that they can get some confidence," he said.
The skipper said that improved fitness and fielding contributed to India's silver medal win at CWG 2022 in Birmingham, which they gained after a nine-run loss to Australia in the final.
"We are definitely working on fitness and fielding because I feel, if we improve in these two areas, we can do wonders. In the Commonwealth Games, we did well but still there is scope for improvement," she said.
"We had a small camp at the NCA where a few girls worked on their fielding and skills. Now we are going to England and if we can show great efforts on the field there, it will give us confidence. When you play big tournaments like World Cup, Commonwealth Games, etc., these parts play a major role. Skill always remains with you but if you work on fielding and fitness, it helps the team," she concluded.
India's T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sneh Rana, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Radha Yadav, Sabbineni Meghana, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (WK), Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Dayalan Hemalatha, Simran Dil Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (WK), KP Navgire
India's ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain), Shafali Verma, Sabbineni Meghana, Deepti Sharma, Taniyaa Sapna Bhatia (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Harleen Deol, Dayalan Hemalatha, Simran Dil Bahadur, Jhulan Goswami, Jemimah Rodrigues
Indian team is heading to England after clinching a silver medal in their historic first-ever outing in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. They lost to Australia by nine runs in a thrilling final and had to settle for a second-position finish.