Harmanpreet Kaur believes the upcoming women’s IPL will help bridge the vast gap between domestic and international cricket, an area which has proved to be the Indian eves’ stumbling block in recent times.
The Indian women’s team bagged a creditable silver medal at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2022. Their only two defeats in the event came against mighty Australia, both by narrow margins and from seemingly winning positions.
Harmanpreet Kaur Feels Indian Women Lacking Domestic Level Which Isn’t Great So Women IPL 2023 Will Benefit Them
During an interaction, Harmanpreet Kaur was asked if she was excited about the women’s version of the IPL, which is going to start soon in 2023.
She replied: “Yes, definitely, I think that is a great platform where domestic players can perform and get that experience. The only thing I personally feel we are lacking is that because our domestic level is not that great and suddenly you are coming to the Indian team and then you feel a lot of pressure.”
The Indian women’s team skipper pointed out that domestic players will gain immensely by rubbing shoulders with the best in the world, elaborating: “I feel if we get women’s IPL, then our domestic players will also get a chance to play with overseas players and that experience will definitely help us when some youngster, who is coming to the team, will not feel that pressure which eventually they feel when they come and play international games.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking to stage the inaugural edition of the women’s IPL in March 2023. The league will hopefully help bridge the gap between the Indian team and the all-conquering Australians as the domestic players will get the experience to play in crunch situations.
Harmanpreet Kaur Reckons It Was A Great Experience Playing At Commonwealth Games For The First Time
Harmanpreet Kaur was also asked about her experience of playing at the Commonwealth Games 2022 at Birmingham where they won the silver medal.
India looked favourite to win the gold medal, especially after the 96-run stand between captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues took the game away from Australia.
However, a precipitous collapse saw India lose eight wickets for just 34 runs as the middle and lower middle-order crumbled under pressure. India was eventually bowled out for 152 in 19.3 overs losing to Australian women by only 9 runs.
A crestfallen Harmanpreet Kaur, whose 43-ball 65 had lifted India into a match-winning position, sat motionless in the dugout, as did the rest of the team, who had to settle for the silver medal.
She responded: “It was a great experience for all of us because we were participating for the first time and we got a great platform to perform. I am really happy with the way we performed because before leaving for the Commonwealth Games we decided to play dominating cricket and the team did a really great job.”
The swashbuckling batter was further asked how much the experience of playing in leagues across the world had helped her in the Commonwealth Games, to which she replied: “When you get a chance to play other leagues, it really helps you. Personally, these things really helped me, it helps to boost your confidence. You get a chance to play with overseas players, you share your experience with them, you learn a lot from them.”
Harmanpreet Kaur was the Women’s Big Bash League’s (WBBL) Player of the Tournament last season. Although the 33-year-old is not a part of the ongoing ‘The Hundred’, the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma are showcasing their wares in the tournament.
Commonwealth Games Final: Australia 161 for 8 (Mooney 61, Lanning 36, Gardner 25, Renuka 2-25, Rana 2-38) beat India 152 (Harmanpreet 65, Rodrigues 33, Gardner 3-16, Schutt 2-27) by nine runs