The India women cricket team returned home from the 2022 CWG in Birmingham with a historic silver, a culmination of their impressive run during the multi-sport spectacle. However, the team came agonisingly close to clinching a gold but were bowled out for 152 in chase of 162 against Australia at Edgbaston.
India women captain Harmanpreet Kaur cut a sorry figures as she waged a lone battle, hitting 65 off 43 to keep the team’s hopes alive. The defeat left her unhappy but the reception and accolades that followed back home, wiped away those bittersweet emotions.
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“After losing the final, I wasn’t happy," Harmanpreet said during a media interaction on Tuesday. “We could have easily won that. But after we returned home with people appreciating our performances, it felt good."
“The team performance was good. We want to continue the same approach in the future tournaments," she added.
The next big multi-team event – the 2023 T20 World Cup – is just six months away now and the team wants to give enough opportunities to players so as to give them a fare run to claim a spot in the squad.
“(It’s) important to give equal chances to all the players before the T20 World Cup, get some performances behind and a fare idea on how the select the team. We shouldn’t feel we haven’t given enough chances to players," Harmanpreet said.
While emphasising on the importance of at least six batters in an eleven be it any format, Harmanpreet singled out Dayalan Hemalatha and KP Navgire as the players who have impressed her the most.
“Whatever format you are playing, you need at least 6 batters. We have added two extra batters (Hemalatha and Navgire). I’m really looking forward to seeing them. The way they batted during the domestic season, I’m really looking forward to see what they can do," she said.
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She says slog overs batting remains an area of concern but hopes Hemalatha and Navgire will help them address it.
“We have two new batters – KP and hemlatha. We can work on those players. These are problematic areas for us for some time. These two players have power and the skills. They will help us fill those gaps," Harmanpreet said.
She said to the team is giving equal chances to the wicketkeeping trio of Taniyaa Bhatia, Yastika Bhatia and Richa Ghosh.
“If we talk about the formats, role of wicketkeeper is different. ODI – bat longer, T20I – give a quick start. Right now, we are giving them equal chances (to prove themselves)," she said.
She said the team will continue to work on its fielding and fitness as these two play an important role in big tournaments.
“We are definitely working towards (improving our) fitness and fielding. These two areas we are working. We have scope to improve. At NCA as well, we were working on that. When you play big tournaments, these things play a big role. Fielding will always help you perform well. Happy that we are getting results," she said.
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