Women's T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur set to script history
What's the story
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 is just around the corner, and all eyes will be on Team India. The Women in Blue will enter the tournament as reigning ODI World Cup champions. However, they have never won the WT20 World Cup title. Meanwhile, eyes will be on team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who is eyeing a historic milestone. Here we look at the same.
Landmark
200 WT20I caps loading for Kaur
Having played 197 matches, as per ESPNcricinfo, Kaur is the most capped player in T20I history (men or women). She is now set to become the first player to reach 200 caps in the format. New Zealand's Suzie Bates (183) and England's Danni Wyatt-Hodge (180) are the only other players with at least 175 WT20I appearances. Smriti Mandhana (166) is the only other Indian with 150-plus caps in WT20Is.
Career
Third-most runs in WT20Is
Last month, Kaur became the third batter to complete 4,000 runs in WT20Is. She reached the milestone against England at County Ground, Bristol. The veteran currently owns 4,75 runs across 176 innings at 30.18. She owns one hundred and 17 fifties as her strike rate reads 110.26. Kaur joined Bates (4,720) and Mandhana (4,333) in terms of batters with 4,000-plus runs.
Information
32 wickets with the ball
Kaur has often contributed with her off-spin bowling as well. She owns 32 WT20I wickets at an average of 24.84 and a fine economy of 6.27. The 37-year-old also has a four-fer to her name.
WT20 WC
Fourth-most matches in Women's T20 WC
Coming to the WT20 WC, Kaur has played 39 matches at the event, having featured in each of the previous nine editions. Only Australia's Ellyse Perry (47), her teammate Alyssa Healy (42), and Bates (42) have played more games in the competition. Kaur has tallied 726 WT20 WC runs at 25.03 (SR: 112.21). This includes five 50-plus scores, including a ton. She has also taken 11 wickets in the tourney at 12.63.
DYK
First Indian with this feat
In 2018, Kaur became the first Indian to score a century in WT20Is. She slammed a 51-ball 103 while leading India against New Zealand in the 2018 Women's T20 World Cup encounter in Providence. Her knock that had 7 fours and 8 sixes powered India to 194/5 in 20 overs. The White Ferns were later restricted to 160/9. Mandhana, having scored 112 against England last year, is the only other Indian with a WT20I hundred to date.