A month after the epochal Women’s ODI World Cup triumph, India will be back in action as the T20I series against Sri Lanka begins at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Sunday.
Series Preparations
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur emphasized that this series is crucial preparation for the next T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in England from June 12 to July 5. With only 11 T20Is lined up before the global event, the team aims to build rhythm and momentum.
Since their group-stage exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup, India has adopted a more aggressive approach, as demonstrated by their 2-1 series win over the West Indies and a 3-2 triumph over England in July.
“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,” said Harmanpreet in the pre-series press conference.
Team Composition
India’s World Cup-winning squad largely remains intact against Sri Lanka, with Radha Yadav and Uma Chetry making way for newcomers Vaishnavi Sharma, a left-arm spinner, and wicketkeeper-batter G. Kamalini.
“It was hectic, but I want these kinds 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 to get back on the field because, at the end of the day, we enjoy ourselves on the field. Tomorrow, we are starting our first game, so really looking forward to that,” added Harmanpreet.
Tuning Into T20 Format
For India, this series is about fine-tuning and getting into the 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 the last month, as that’s something we worked really hard for. But we need to remember the things that brought us results and are relevant at this stage. As a team, we are really looking forward to the next World Cup,” Harmanpreet stated.
Pitch Conditions
It also benefits India that they played ODI World Cup matches against South Africa and Australia in Visakhapatnam. “The pitch is really good for batting. Dew is going to play a huge role at 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.