Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur has highlighted the significance of the WPL in shaping the team’s preparations for the upcoming ODI World Cup, scheduled to be held in India later this year.
Speaking in the press conference in Mumbai, Harmanpreet Kaur expressed confidence that WPL 2025 will play a key role in Indian players refining their skills and enhancing their fitness levels ahead of the global tournament.
“This WPL is going to play a very big role because this year we have the ODI World Cup. After the WPL, we have a very good window where we can work on our fitness,” said Harmanpreet Kaur.
She also said that India U19 women’s team has set a new benchmark with their second T20 World Cup title win in Malaysia recently.
“Our U-19 team is setting a benchmark with back-to-back trophies and it’s a very proud moment for all of us,” Harmanpreet Kaur added.
Meanwhile, Jhulan Goswami, MI’s bowling coach and team mentor said their side has a ‘quality core team’ for WPL and domestic players have also been impressive.
“All of them are very quality (players), they have done very well in domestic cricket and they have performed really well. One of them has just now won the U-19 (T20) World Cup, G Kamalini… (and there is) Sanskriti Gupta too,” Goswami said.
“We have a quality core team; we have a few youngsters who have picked it up this season. All of them are very quality (players), equally balanced, they understand their game well and it’s important to have a balanced team,” she added.
Meanwhile Mumbai head coach Charlotte Edwards said the team will continue to monitor India seamer Pooja Vastrakar, who is currently injured.
“Every player that comes into MI hopefully knows what’s expected of them. But equally important is that aggressive approach, which is what we want to have throughout when we bat, bowl, or field-something we tried to instill in most of the players,” she said.
Edwards emphasised the importance of player having clarity about their strengths and playing fearless ecricket while enjoying the game.
“That’s what makes me and Jhulan [Goswami, bowling coach and mentor] very happy—when they’ve got smiles on their faces and they can impact games the way they have done. I thought we played some fantastic cricket last year, and that’s all we can ask for,” concluded Charlotte Edwards.
The Indian team will look WPL as a stepping stone towards success in the ODI World Cup later this year.
