The Indian women’s cricket team leaves for UAE as they gear up for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will begin on October 3. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Women’s cricket’s official X account shared photos of the team, including key players such as captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Varma, Jemimah Rodrigues, and the coaching and support staff.
Harmanpreet is confident ahead of the World Cup
Before their departure, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur shared her optimism at a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday. She expressed confidence in India’s ability to overcome Australia, their long-standing rivals, in this World Cup. Reflecting on the 2020 T20 World Cup final where India fell short against Australia, Harmanpreet stated, “Australia is a strong team, but they know India can challenge them anytime. We are taking our best team to the World Cup, and this is a great opportunity to win the title.”
India eyes redemption against Australia
In recent years, India has come close to World Cup glory, making it to the final in 2020 and the semifinals in 2022, where Australia stood in their way. Harmanpreet remains confident in the team’s current form, despite mixed results in 2024, including a loss to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final. India will start their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on October 4 at Dubai International Stadium, with warm-up matches against West Indies and South Africa before.
Although India faced setbacks in the T20 series against Australia and England earlier this year, they bounced back with series wins against Bangladesh. Harmanpreet is hopeful that her experienced squad can deliver on the big stage and finally clinch the T20 World Cup title.
