'Very important for me': Harmanpreet Kaur ahead of Women's WC
What's the story
Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur is hopeful of leading India to their first-ever World Cup victory. The skipper spoke about the importance of the upcoming months for her and the team. "Personally, this tournament is very important for me. This is a home World Cup," Kaur told ICC's official website. She will be captaining India in this marquee tournament for the first time.
Team strategy
Number 4 batting and Shafali's exclusion
Kaur emphasized her experience batting at number four and her intention to contribute to the team's success. The Indian squad for this tournament has seen the exclusion of Shafali Verma, who also missed out on the recent ODI series against England. Despite her absence, Chief Selector Neetu David assured that Verma is still part of their system and they are keeping an eye on her progress in Australia 'A.'
Selector's perspective
David defends Verma's exclusion
David defended the decision to leave out Verma, saying they have been working on this squad for a long time and believe it's the best one for the World Cup. "We just want Shafali to keep playing and gain some experience," she said. Despite not having won the title, India has finished as runners-up twice, in 2005 and 2017.
Captain's belief
Kaur confident of her team's performance
Kaur expressed confidence in her team's unity and their ability to perform well. "The same team played in the England series, and we have been playing together for a long time now. Team looks quite balanced to me and hopefully, in both — Australia series and the World Cup, we will play our best cricket," she said. The captain is hopeful that they will play their best cricket in both the Australia series and World Cup.
Information
India squad for Women's World Cup 2025
Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia, Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud.