Vice-Captain of Indian cricket team and All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur is all set and excited for her first Women’s Big Bash League stint with Sydney Thunder.
An exhilarated and overwhelmed Harmanpreet in an interview with BCCI.TV expressed her exuberance on being chosen to play BBL.
“Of course, it is a big leap for me because I was looking to play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) kind of a format. I am feeling really good because if I get a chance to be in the playing eleven and with other international players, I will get an opportunity to improve my game further. The few minor doubts and kinks that are there, I will get an opportunity to iron some of those out”.
“I look forward to learning and gaining experience which I will then share with my team-mates and friends here as well and contribute to Indian cricket. While we are good skill-wise, they are ahead of us in some aspects like strength and hard-hitting power. I would learn to hit the big shots. I want to understand and learn from their fitness regimes, the kind of gym training that they do etc. How they prepare themselves mentally, what kind of a set-up they have and all that. I will get to learn more about assessing the game, strategies etc. I have a couple of months to learn all” Pronounced Kaur.
Before choosing the team she faced Problem of Choice as there were three teams who were eager to get her services but Kaur chose Sydney Thunders after evaluating all the teams in terms of team strength, players, and everything.
“I had an offer from three teams. Then I went through their performances, compositions and everything else. I picked Sydney Thunder because firstly they are the champions and secondly there is only one overseas player in their team – Stefanie Taylor from West Indies. The rest are players from their domestic circuit. Since the rule is that only two overseas players can play, I figured that there are higher chances of me getting an opportunity to make it to the playing eleven vis-à-vis any other team where already two overseas players have been playing. Sydney Thunder have won the title on the basis of their domestic players so they do have a good bunch.
“They (BBL teams) have been following the performance of the Indian women cricketers and on the basis which they had given me an offer. I preferred Sydney Thunder also because playing with a champion team is obviously a big thing. You will meet confident and experienced players who have already won the title and playing with them will be a big thing for me.”
Sharing a jolly moment of her family she delightfully said “Earlier my parents and brothers and everyone would say that ‘tujhe badi jaldi rehte hai khelene ki. Kya har ball ko marte reheti ha’ Now, they are happy because they feel that I hit hard. My approach has helped borne fruit.”
“As a batswoman, it is good because you get to play on hard wickets which you don’t get here. As a hard-hitter of the ball, I like playing there. I have liked playing the Australian conditions from the beginning and the atmosphere there and all of that,” she concludes.
Harmanpreet had a wonderful Australian outing earlier this year as in two T20Is 70 runs at a strike of 145.83.
Though Sydney Thunder said that they haven’t signed Harmanpreet yet but reports suggests that both have agreed to the deal and Harmanpeet will travel to Australia to play WBBL becoming first Indian women cricketer to play in a foreign T20 league.