“They have played a big role in my life” – Harmanpreet Kaur on impact of MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly on her captaincy
India Women’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur is a huge fan of former India skippers MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly. The 33-year-old revealed that she often watches old clips of Dhoni to enhance her leadership abilities.
While Ganguly taught the team how to win overseas during the early 2000s, Dhoni led India to all three ICC trophies - the ODI World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy - under his captaincy. Kaur will now be looking to help India Women lift their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup trophy.
Speaking to The Times of India, Harmanpreet Kaur said:
“MS Dhoni, we know how clever he was on the field. Today, if you watch his (Dhoni's) old match videos, you can still learn a lot of things from him. I have learned a lot from Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni. I always try to pick up small things that can help me and the team on the field. They have played a big role in my life when we talk about captaincy.”
She added:
“The way they led the team is something I really follow. When Sourav was leading the team, Indian men's cricket was growing. The way he (Sourav) was changing the atmosphere (in the dressing room) and trusting and backing the players.”
Harmanpreet Kaur is India's most successful T20I captain.
Harmanpreet Kaur: 74 matches, 44 wins
MS Dhoni: 72 matches, 41 wins https://t.co/23xZU98xPa
“It's not easy for us to qualify” – Harmanpreet Kaur on India’s playoff chances in Women’s T20 World Cup 2023
Kaur feels that India Women will face a stiff challenge in the group stage to qualify for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 playoffs. She said:
“I don't think any game is going to be easy for us. It's not easy for us to qualify because all the teams really want to do well on the world stage. For us, it is important to do the right work and keep focusing on certain areas. All the teams are doing really well nowadays. We just need to focus.”
Harmanpreet Kaur added:
“All the teams are important. They are doing really well. We cannot take any team lightly. We just want to go there and back our strengths rather than thinking about what others can do. If we can focus on what we can do, that is going to be the key for us.”
Harmanpreet Kaur on WC.
#HarmanpreetKaur #Cricket #CricketTwitter https://t.co/MKyAuSXxlt
India Women will open their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan Women in Newlands, Cape Town on Sunday, February 12. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. are also scheduled to play West Indies Women, England Women and Ireland Women in their group-stage games.
It’s worth mentioning that India Women ended as runners-up in the last edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020.