"It's really tough": India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on facing Windies in T20Is after 3-0 ODI series defeat to Australia
Dec 14, 2024
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 14 : India Women skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Saturday accepted that "it's really tough" for them to face West Indies in the T20Is after conceding a 3-0 ODI series defeat to Australia, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
Earlier on Friday, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Women's Selection Committee announced India's 15-member squad to face the West Indies in three T20Is and three ODIs over the next two weeks.
India's most recent ODI assignment against Australia ended in a 3-0 sweep in favour of the hosts, denting India's chances in the ICC Women's Championship. They will now look to collect points against the West Indies and then Ireland.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Harmanpreet reflected on India's failure to win crunch games and said that it's only the mindset since they already have a good set of players in the squad.
"I think it's only the mindset because, if you see, our team has very good players. All of them have done really well whenever they got the opportunity. I think in the big games it's only about the mindset and what you're feeling individually. Because, as a player, as a team, you can only talk about the things you have done well. At the end of the day, it's only you who is dealing [with the situation and pressure] in the middle and it's only about you, how you are going to take these things forward," Harmanpreet was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
The skipper added that in the end, it's the individual performer's mindset about how a team will win a game.
"We discuss whatever is required to win but, at the end of the day, it's the individual performer's mindset, about how you are going to win the game for the team," she added.
She accepted that Team India are going through this patch. The skipper added that they can only talk about the good things the team has done in the past.
"It's really tough when you're going through this patch. At the same time, we can only talk about the good things we have done in the past. I think having team-bonding sessions are very important. So, when we were coming back from Australia, we had good talks on the flight because that was only time we could talk and think about how we can start this series. Yesterday was a good off-day and today we had a good meeting where we discussed how we have to go about in this particular series," she further added.
Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side, with Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Titas Sadhu, Deepti Sharma, Saima Thakor, Renuka Singh Thakur, Minnu Mani, and Priya Mishra included in both formats.
Nandini Kashyap, Sajana Sajeevan, Raghvi Bist, and Radha Yadav feature in the T20I squad but miss out on the ODIs. Pratika Rawal, Tejal Hasabnis, and Tanuja Kanwer will replace them for the ODIs, as per ICC.
Yastika Bhatia, Shreyanka Patil, and Priya Punia - who suffered a knock on her knee in the second ODI against Australia - miss out due to injury concerns.
All three T20Is will be played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, while the ODIs will be held at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana, Nandini Kashyap, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Deepti Sharma, Sajana Sajeevan, Raghvi Bist, Renuka Singh Thakur, Priya Mishra, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Minnu Mani, Radha Yadav.
ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Tejal Hasabnis, Deepti Sharma, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Tanuja Kanwer, Titas Sadhu, Saima Thakor, Renuka Singh Thakur.