It wasn’t a healthy last few days for the Indian captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, who saw her team being whitewashed in Australia with a 3-0 margin. It was a poor game plan from the Blue Brigade in all three departments as they started preparation for the three-match T20I and ODI series against West Indies at home.
Harmanpreet Kaur felt that they have to strengthen the mindset of the top individual players in crunch games like the semifinal or the final in huge events for better results in the fixtures. India did well in the Asia Cup with an unbeaten run before losing the final to Sri Lanka. This was the same case in the T20 World Cup against Australia in the group stage, where they could not hold their nerve.
“I think it’s only the mindset because, if you see, our team has very good players. All of them have done well whenever they got the opportunity. I think, in the big games, it’s only about the mindset and what you’re feeling individually.” The Indian women’s captain addressed the pre-match press conference before the T20I opener on Sunday (December 15).
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“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 Kaur addressed the presser.
Harmanpreet Kaur surprises with ‘Ask the right person’ on Shafali Verma’s exclusion
India won 13 out of the 20 T20Is that they have played in this year. But none of these are important clashes. They missed the chances to Sri Lanka and Australia in vital moments.
The scheduling of the series hasn’t been easy on the Indian team, who are now going to play the three T20Is in Navi Mumbai just after the three ODIs in Perth and Brisbane, the last of which was on December 11. Harmanpreet Kaur has noted that it has been a part and parcel of playing at the highest level, but she admitted the other side of the coin.
“To be honest, it is difficult because you know we’re coming from Australia. After the game, only within four to five hours, we left the country and came back to India. But as professionals, these things happen, and we just want to stay motivated. Yesterday was an off day, so we tried to rest well, and we are looking forward to the game tomorrow.” The Punjab-born shed light.
One of the most surprising aspects of the squad is the absence of their aggressive power-hitting opening batter, Shafali Verma, who also missed the Australia series, along with Arundhati Reddy, who has been asked to play the domestic tournament despite picking four wickets in the third and final WACA ODI.
“I would say to ask the right person because I can only talk about the team that’s here, and what things we can do to win this series. I think regarding Shafali or any other player, (it’s) better to ask the right persons.” Harmanpreet Kaur added.
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The Indian captain felt that they have done well at home, winning the recent three-match ODI series against the White Ferns by a 2-1 margin, and will open to paste the same performance against West Indies.
“When we were coming back from Australia, we had good talks on the flight because that was the 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.” Harmanpreet Kaur concluded.