Harmanpreet Kaur hopeful of India ‘breaking the final barrier’ in their quest for T20 World Cup glory

Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed confidence at potentially breaking the ‘final barrier’ and going all the way to lift the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 title.

Australia have proven to be a thorn in the flesh for India in the past, losing to them in the final of the 2020 T20 World Cup and the semi-final of the 2022 edition - but Kaur is optimistic of a good show in the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Kaur said, "Whenever we play on this kind of stage (World Cup), we always want to do well. We have always done well in the past as well, and hopefully, this time we break that final barrier and go all the way.”

India are drawn in a tough group that includes six-time champions Australia, arch-rivals Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, who will be buoyed by their title-winning campaign in the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2024.

However, the Indian captain is unperturbed by what the other teams bring to the table.

"The World Cup is a kind of tournament for which all teams prepare differently, so no team can be taken lightly and similarly no team should be overestimated either,” she added.

Kaur also stressed on the hard yards being put in by the squad in preparation for the World Cup as she said, “We are working extremely hard to live up to those expectations, we have been holding camps where all players are working hard. We have also worked on the mistakes we made the last time. Now we're ready with a positive mindset."

The Women’s T20 World Cup, which was initially scheduled to be held in Bangladesh, has been moved to UAE and will commence from October 3rd, 2024.