Top News

Mumbai: Harmanpreet Kaur gears up for her fifth ICC Women's Cricket World Cup as looks forward to what is a very important next few months for her and her side.

“Personally, this tournament is very important for me. This is a home World Cup. Home World Cups are special for every player. I have a lot of experience batting at No.4, I am just looking to contribute to the team,” said Kaur, who will captain India for the first time in the marquee tournament.

“We are really excited for the World Cup. We are having training camps. We are preparing ourselves mentally and physically,” she said.

A notable omission for India is Shafali Verma who also missed out on a spot in the recent ODI series against England. The opener had returned to the T20I side in the same series and was a part of the India 'A' side against Australia ‘A’. However, the selectors have opted for stability as the team heads into this all-important tournament.

“She is playing for India 'A' in Australia. She is a part of the system. We are keeping an eye out for her. The more she plays, the more experience she will gain for the future," Kaur said.

“Our team did well in England. We have been working on this squad for a long time now. I think the team we have picked is the best, so we don't want to play around with the team ahead of the World Cup. We just want Shafali to keep playing and gain some experience,” she said.

India have finished as runners-up twice, in 2005 and 2017, but are yet to claim the title.

However, Kaur believes her side has played enough cricket together and possesses everything needed to finally go all the way.

"The same team played in the England series and we have been playing together for a long time now. Team looks quite balanced to me and hopefully, in both - Australia series and the World Cup, we will play our best cricket," she added.

---