"Obviously. I'll definitely rate this team [as favourites]," Harmanpreet Kaur, the Indian captain, boasted after the announcement of the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, on Saturday. "The team that we have finalised today has the calibre to again become champions," she said. "No pressure or extra burden or over-confidence"
The admission from the Indian skipper came despite the team's recent 1-4 series loss against South Africa. Amita Sharma, the chief selector, noted that an effort was made to strengthen the bowling department, which she believes let India down in the recent series.
"We lacked a bit in the bowling department," Amita said. "We were not able to take wickets and, as you might have seen in the matches, one of their main batters scored the most runs. So, we have tried to strengthen the bowling department. We have added two bowlers to take early wickets. That was a bit of an issue for us [in South Africa]."
Harmanpreet, however, brushed aside concerns around the performance of the team and her bowlers in the South Africa series, and said, "In T20, bowlers have a hard job. South Africa was the only series where our bowlers could not click. I would not judge our players on one series alone. Lots of learnings from the South Africa series. We will work in the camp. We also have a very good series in England ahead of the World Cup [to prepare]."
Performance with both bat and ball in the Powerplay would be the key area of focus for India ahead of the World Cup, Harmanpreet admitted. "T20 Powerplays are really important. We have to target runs while batting and wickets while bowling. The Powerplay sets the tone, so we'd like to work hard during the Powerplays. Also the middle order, that's not focussed too much on. But we will work on all these aspects based on the lessons from South Africa.
"We have identified areas to improve and we will try to cover the areas during our preparatory camp at CoE and we will try to get the rhythm back during the series against England in England ahead of the World Cup...We did really well in our last two series in England, both in T20s and England."
One of the biggest areas of concern for India is the absence of Amanjot Kaur, the seam-bowling all-rounder who is recovering from an injury. "Amanjot was replaced by Kashvee. She also got injured. So she has been replaced by Nandni [Sharma]. It's difficult to replace Amanjot because she covered all three departments and has experience. We still have high hopes. No pressure," Amita laughed as she admitted.
Harmanpreet, however, offered a more serious response. "Amanjot was our key player. It was difficult to find someone to take her place. But we are trying with Bharti [Fulmali]. She has tried to prove herself in whatever opportunities she has got. We also have Radha Yadav."
She also backed Jemimah Rodrigues to come good following her lean run of scores in the South Africa series, where she scored only 82 runs across five innings - including three single-digit returns. "Batting order is settled now. Jemimah is one-down and we don't want to change too many things unnecessarily," Harmanpreet said. "She will be back after a dip in South Africa, I am confident about it.
She went on to back the other inexperienced picks in the squad, and said, "Bharti has proven herself in domestic and WPL. [She] Has helped win crucial matches. She is a perfect fit for the No. 6/7 slot that we are looking for. Nandni also is a proven performer in WPL and is among the top wicket-takers. Despite losing our top players, I am sure they will come to the fore and we have got good options in them."
Apart from South Africa, India will also face Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Netherlands in the group stage, with only two of those teams making it to the semis. Their biggest threat in the group stage this year is expected to come from Australia, the six-time champions, and South Africa, the team that has reached the last two T20 World Cup finals. However, with little scope to slip-up, Harmanpreet isn't willing to take any team lightly.
"All the matches are important in the World Cup. All the teams have shown improvement and anyone can beat anyone. We have to prepare well, go in with a positive mindset and make good plans and execute them on a particular day," she said.
"The last T20 World Cup, unfortunately we couldn't play well as a team. Keeping it in mind, we have been preparing hard since then and we have tasted success in every series except the last one. Yes, there will be pressure and a bit of desperation but what matters is how we prepare ourselves mentally for the big tournament and how everyone keeps herself in the best possible shape. Whatever has happened is history. Now we just have to do the right things and keep doing it again and again."
