The game never stops. Amidst the lockdown which is of a global nature, the cricketers and cricketing minds defy all constraints. For them, the next assignment is the most important thing to look ahead. One such brain from the women cricketing field is Harmanpreet.
It is well known that for the ODI world cup, coming in 2021, the Indian team needs to up themselves in all departments. Harmanpreet has pointed out alongside fitness and fielding, India needs the services of a quality pace attack. She adds that leading the side in the shortest format of the game isn’t a burden for her. It is interesting to note that her recent outings as a batter have warranted questions from all possible directions.
While talking to Mumbai Mirror, she says that her teammates and the team have now started realizing the importance of fitness in the course of the past two or three years. She feels that this understanding could be traced to the English and Aussie sides for a long time. She elaborates further and highlights the stark differences of the domestic circuits in the respective countries.
Indian domestic settings, according to her are five or six years behind the current Aussie and English advances. Nonetheless, she goes onto point that rising awareness regarding fitness has enhanced the game of girls. Moreover, BCCI trains 30 players from the domestic circuit too. Earlier, there was a vast difference in the game being played at our domestic frontier and at the international level. Harmanpreet recalls that players were clueless in the earlier stages of their international careers earlier.
While adding about the past, the skipper adds that in current times she feels that the Indian side is equally good as compared to other sides around the globe. Fitness, however, has to be one of the key areas, according to her, if the Indian side sees itself locking horns against Aussie or English side in global stages. Fitness, as he has seen, comes very naturally and at an early stage in Australia or England whereas things start late in Indian soil.
Longer duration of dedicated and passionate inputs on the physical health will get the best out of a player to take the team through in tight knockouts. Harmanpreet feels that Indian women have time and again proven that skills are not a point to worry. They, however, need a pace attack which can make lives easy for spinners who will not always be under the pressure of leading with the ball in hand. On a personal front, Kaur has been no outstanding with the bat when her captaincy graph has risen exceptionally. She scored her last ODI century in early 2018 and there are no near performances in T20Is to recall as well. However, she seems little affected by the same is enjoying her captaincy where she feels alert and in control of things.
A student who enjoys studying cricket more than anything else, keen to learn the insights of the women’s game.