India’s women’s cricket team enters the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup with strong momentum, following their recent ODI World Cup triumph and a confident T20I series win in Australia, which has boosted belief within the camp.
Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said the side is focused on carrying forward its winning form while maintaining the hunger to achieve more success on the global stage.
“For sure, we would like to continue the good form which we’ve had, especially after the success in the 50-over World Cup. The WPL also gave a lot of players valuable experience, along with the T20 series in Australia,” Mandhana said, as per the ICC website.
“More than anything, this team is really hungry. Everyone is focused on doing the right things,” she added.
India’s batting unit has evolved significantly in recent years, with the emergence of power-hitters such as Richa Ghosh, Shafali Verma and captain Harmanpreet Kaur adding depth and aggression to the lineup. Mandhana noted that this evolution has given the team greater balance and flexibility in T20 cricket.
“We have so many power hitters coming in later, so we can take our time at the top. Earlier, it wasn’t our biggest strength, but now it’s becoming one because of players like Shafali, Richa and Harman,” she said.
Mandhana, who made her T20 World Cup debut as a teenager in 2014, reflected on how early experiences shaped her ambition to help India earn global respect.
“When I first played, I saw the respect teams like Australia commanded. That’s when I realised I wanted India to reach that level and win the World Cup,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad has departed for the United Kingdom, where they will play a three-match T20I series against England from May 28 to June 2 as preparation for the World Cup, starting June 12.
India have been placed in Group B alongside Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Netherlands. Their campaign begins against Pakistan on June 14, followed by matches against the Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia, with the high-profile clash against Australia scheduled at Lord’s on June 28.
The squad was announced earlier this month by the BCCI, with Harmanpreet Kaur leading the side and Smriti Mandhana named vice-captain.
India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Sree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Bharti Fulmali, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nandni Sharma and Radha Yadav