"Agar khelna hai to Mumbai Indians se khelna hai"- MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur excited ahead of WPL 2023 opener

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is excited to lead her team in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL) with the opening encounter to be played against Gujarat Giants on Saturday.

Harmanpreet opened up on how special it is to play for one of the most successful franchises in the world. She spoke about big stars having represented MI and how lucky she is feeling to lead the women's team.

In a video posted by BCCI, Harmanpreet Kaur spoke about the feeling of playing for the Mumbai Indians. She said:

"We have seen big players like Rohit Sharma and Sachin play and people always used to say that 'Agar khelna hai to Mumbai Indians se khelna hai (If you want to play for a franchise it has to be for Mumbai Indians).' Very few players get the opportunity to play for MI and I am lucky that I have got the opportunity to not just play but also lead the side."

Harmanpreet also spoke about her nervousness during the auction when she was part of a bidding war between multiple franchises. She added:

"There was a mixture of pressure as well as excitement during the WPL auction. I hadn't felt anything like this before. But when Mumbai Indians picked me, it was like a dream come true moment personally."

She's back in Blue 💙
She's back leading a team 🫡
She's here for @mipaltan 👍🏻

🎥 Here's Captain @ImHarmanpreet speaking ahead of the #TATAWPL opener against Gujarat Giants 🔽 https://t.co/vdX4Oq1W49

Harmanpreet Kaur on the potential impact of WPL

Harmanpreet Kaur believes that the inaugural season of the WPL will help inexperienced players share a dressing room with some huge stars of women's cricket and will also give them a platform to showcase their talent.

On this, she stated:

"We were waiting for this league for a long time. Those who have a BCCI contract get exposure by playing at the international level. But domestic players will also now have the opportunity to run shoulders with international players and even we will be able to see them from close quarters."

She further added:

"WPL is not just going to help Indian cricket but also the women's cricket as a whole. Women's cricket will definitely go to the next level after the launch of this league."

Harmanpreet Kaur will be keen to get her team's WPL journey off to a winning start against Gujarat.