While the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 is knocking the door as it will be hosted in the West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018, Indian women’s T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur believes that the T20I vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is a game-changer for the team.
The left-handed opening batswoman Mandhana is running in a great batting form. Recently, she won Player of the Tournament award in KSL (KIA Super League) 2018 after finishing as the leading run-scorer in the tournament. She scored the record runs 421 runs in 9 innings with the average of 60.14 and the strike-rate of 174.68, including one century and two half-centuries.
Before the beginning of the upcoming WWT20 tournament, the skipper Kaur feels that the in-form Mandhana is a game-changer for the nation.
Recently, Kaur told Sky Sports, “She’s in really great form and that is great for India. She is a game-changer for India.”
As the Indian women’s cricket team is currently the no.5 ICC Women’s T20I ranked team, Mandhana has a dream to win the upcoming World T20 and to take the team to the top-ranked position.
Mandhana said, “Any player who starts playing cricket for India the only aim is win a World Cup for your country. It is one thing that drives the team and me as a player. We need to win a World Cup and be the No 1 team in the world. We have a lot of steps to take to improve as a team to achieve that and we are working hard towards that.”
Winning the Player of the Tournament award in KSL 2018, Mandhana feels it was a good confidence-builder and a good experience for her before the World T20.
The 22-year-old said, “It has been a good confidence-builder and good experience to get before the World T20. I’ve been timing the ball well in the nets and in the games. In the past, I’ve played a rash shot and got out, but I’ve been learning from that – playing a bit more straight and lessening the risk of getting out, which has worked. I know it’s not just about smashing the ball, I’ve been looking to play the situation and adapting and that is one thing that is lacking a little.”
