Visakhapatnam, Dec 20 A month after the epochal Women’s ODI World Cup triumph, India will be seen back in action when the T20I series against Sri Lanka begins at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Sunday.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the series will serve as crucial preparation for the next T20 World Cup, to be held in England from June 12 to July 5. India have just 11 T20Is lined up before the global event happens and will be keen to build rhythm and momentum.
Since their group-stage exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup, India has adopted a more aggressive approach, as seen from their 2-1 series win over the West Indies and a 3-2 triumph over England in July this year.
“Our end goal is the next T20 World Cup in six months and before that, we want to play as many T20s as possible. From tomorrow it is going to start and some new players in the team; it is the right time to give them a fair chance to understand how we have to go in the next World Cup.
“So, it is a very important series for all of us and we just want to play with a free mindset and play how we have been playing T20s for the last couple of years,” said Harmanpreet in the pre-series press conference on Saturday.
India’s World Cup-winning squad largely features against Sri Lanka, barring Radha Yadav and Uma Chetry, who have made way for youngsters, left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter G. Kamalini.
“It was hectic, but I want these kind of schedules after every World Cup. So I don't mind that, but looking forward to this series. We have been waiting for a month when we will go to the field because end of the day we enjoy ourselves on the field, so tomorrow we are going to start our first game, so really looking forward for that,” added Harmanpreet.
For India, it’s about fine-tuning themselves and slipping into rhythm of T20Is. “T20 format is something which the team loves the most. I don’t think we need to forget what we achieved in last one month, as that’s something we worked really hard for it. But we need to remember the things which has given us the result and are a part of at this stage. As a team we are really looking forward for the next World Cup,” added Harmanpreet.
It also helps that India played ODI World Cup games against South Africa and Australia in Visakhapatnam. "The pitch is really good (for batting). Dew is going to play a huge role in this ground. We played the (ODI) World Cup matches here. We know the kind of pitch here, and how we have to respond," concluded Harmanpreet.
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