In search of greatness, Kaur finds inspiration in her younger self

Mumbai: Just moments before her departure to Dubai for the upcoming T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet Kaur took a brief moment to glance at a photograph hanging in the corner of the conference room at the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday, right after addressing the media.

The picture had India’s 2020 T20 World Cup team, which was also led her, posing with the runners-up medal. They had come undone in front of a record 86,174-strong crowd at Melbourne in the final, but it’s still the deepest run by an Indian women’s team in a T20 World Cup.

Here they go again; trying to go one step better than 2020, two steps better than their four semi-final finishes, several steps better than T20’s early years when the Indian team would not be up to scratch.

Kaur has seen it all, experienced the metamorphosis of Indian women’s T20 cricket from being fledglings to challengers. Now, they aim to be conquerors. Confident in body language, Kaur and head coach Amol Mazumdar were measured with their words.

“We are absolutely prepared for anything and everything. All I can say is that we are ready to fly to Dubai,” said Mazumdar.

“I totally agree with Sir. We want to win the World Cup. But at the same time, the process matters a lot and in the last couple of weeks, we have really worked hard,” Kaur added.

While Australia and New Zealand are engaged in a bilateral series to prepare for the World Cup starting October 3, the Indian team went for an extensive camp in Bengaluru. The first fifteen days were delegated to fitness and fielding, the team’s known weak links. The next ten days saw a skills camp which comprised a practice match every third day.

Not for the first time, sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare’s services were availed of. “That is an area we would like to tap into. Mughda Bavare’s been fantastic with the group. I was pretty happy with the results we had by the end of the camp. There were certain things that we tried to address,” said Mazumdar.

The captain and coach spelled out very little on the mental work that went behind the scenes, but India’s poor track record at world events – close losses through failed run-chases in the 2022 Commonwealth games ODI final, the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final, capitulation in the 2020 T20 final – offer ample evidence of the team’s past frailties.

There’s a common chord to all the big losses — Australia, six-time World Cup winners in eight attempts, the most dominant force in women’s cricket.

“Look, their team is good, no doubt about that,” said Kaur. “But they also think, India is one team which can beat us.”

Australia is in India’s Group A of the ten-team event. New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan being the other teams to go past for a semi-final berth.

Dubai and dew

History and preparations aside, teams are having to make late adjustments due to change in playing conditions after the event was moved from Bangladesh to UAE, last month.

“It came as a surprise for everyone,” said Mazumdar. “We had specifically gone to Bangladesh in May and played 5 T20Is to get used to conditions. But things have changed. I think conditions would be similar to what we have in India. From my experience there (coaching in IPL), you know...start of the season, there will be a little bit of bounce on the surfaces, in Dubai especially.”

Kaur and her team could take lessons from the 2021 men’s T20 World Cup too. Then, toss and run chasing proved hugely advantageous in Dubai with excessive dew speeding up surfaces against the new ball to the benefit of chasing sides and making the spinner’s task even more difficult.

Three of India’s four league matches are night games. “At night, dew plays a big, big role,” Kaur said, making a mental note. “You know, we have good spinners. At the same time, we have Pooja (Vastrakar) and Renuka (Singh), who are doing really well. So, when there is dew, you have to see, who is your best bowler.”

With the bat, Kaur has been a leading act for many years. India’s showings could be contingent on her batting form. When in full flow like in the 2023 Women’s Premier League, she looks in charge.

Of late, her lean run of scores have been troubling. Importantly, Kaur, 35, is looking to rediscover her the state of mind of her younger self. “I’ve played so many World Cups and the World Cup atmosphere is totally different. I am going with the same excitement, when I was just a 19-year-old. I just want to go there and enjoy myself. So, for me, (it’s about) just going there and playing with full freedom,” she said.

Perhaps, taking a leaf out of Rohit Sharma’s late career trajectory. Only last month, Kaur had spoken of her team taking inspiration from Rohit’s (2024 T20 World Cup winning) team.