London, July 14: Captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Monday underlined the importance of having clarity of roles for Indian players as they set sights on the ODI World Cup to be held at home later this year.
Having recorded their maiden T20I series win in England with a 3-2 result, India will now take on the hosts in the first of the three ODIs in Southampton on Wednesday which will be vital for their preparations for the mega event back home.
“As a captain, it’s going to be very exciting. The last time when we played (in 2013), that time, I feel women’s cricket was not that famous, but now we have raised the bar and the kind of fan following we have right now, it’s going to be very exciting for all of us,” Harmanpreet told the media on Monday.
“If I talk about the past 2-3 years… right now, everything is quite settled and everybody knows their roles, what they’re going to do and (understand about) their positions. A lot of clarity is there comparatively to what we had previously. As a team and as a player, that’s very important.
“When you are playing for your country, you always want to know your roles (and have) your clarity. I think that is there and all (the) credit goes to our team and our staff,” she said.
Also having multiple choices to pick the playing XI from is something that India did not have before, noted Harmanpreet.
“After a long time it’s a (good) headache that everyone is doing well and we are getting an option to choose the best team. Before this, we didn’t have so many options. (The) credit goes to Pratika (Rawal) and Shafali (Verma), the kind of performances they are showing up (with),” she said.
“Harleen, whenever she (has) got the opportunity, she has also shown that she can also be good for the team and bat responsibly.” Harmanpreet said it was tough not having Radha Yadav in the side before, praising the spinner for putting in the hard yards when she was away from the national side.
“Radha is one of the most important teammates. When she was not doing well, it was a big headache for all of us as to how to keep getting performances from her because she is such a team player who I don’t want to lose as a captain,” the captain said.
“The break she got in between, she did a lot of hard work and improved herself for international cricket. In ODI cricket also she can be useful for the team.” The Indian skipper said increase in the workload has led to positive results on the field.
“We have increased the fielding and fitness load, the results are visible,” she said. (PTI)
