India Women's Cricket: England Series Kicks Off T20 World Cup Prep, Mandhana Says

India Women Gear Up for T20 World Cup with England Series

India's women's cricket team is set to commence their preparations for the T20 World Cup in England next year with a five-match T20I series against England, starting on June 28th. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her anticipation for the series, highlighting the opportunity to acclimatize to the English conditions.

Mandhana spoke in Harmanpreet Kaur's absence due to illness © Getty

"With the T20 World Cup next year around the same time, in similar summer conditions in the UK, these five T20s will provide valuable preparation for the girls," Mandhana stated. "It's a chance for us to assess the conditions and how they suit our game. Five T20s offer a significant amount of cricket in these conditions, just a year before the World Cup."

Mandhana also addressed the absence of captain Harmanpreet Kaur from the pre-match press conference due to illness. She clarified that Harmanpreet was only unwell for the day and was expected to participate in the matches. "I don't think she's not playing, she's just unwell for today, so I'm just here filling up for today," she confirmed.

The Indian team has undergone nearly a month of intensive preparation for the England tour, which includes three ODIs following the T20I series. Several players, including Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani, are touring England for the first time. The team arrived a week early to fine-tune their preparations. Mandhana expressed satisfaction with the team's preparation, deeming it ideal leading up to the series.

"It's been a good 25 days of prep. We had batters and bowlers camp at Bangalore at NCA and that was also very targeted and specific, keeping in mind this tour," Mandhana explained. "Of course, we came a little earlier here, good eight days of prep, a few good practice matches... we got to know a lot of things about the England conditions, especially [for] a lot of girls, it's their first England tour so it was important for them to come here early and get used to the conditions."

Recognizing the dynamic nature of T20 cricket, Mandhana acknowledged the constant need for improvement among batters, given the tactical strategies employed by opposing teams.

"I think [in the] T20 game for me, there's a lot of things which I always feel like there's a lot of scope of improvement for. And not only me, I mean, most of the batters, it's a format which you have to keep improvising and keep improving because the other teams keep getting you, keep planning against the way you bat," she noted.

Despite the emphasis on strategic planning, Mandhana maintained a grounded perspective, emphasizing the importance of focusing on each ball. "Of course, coming here, there are a lot of game plans and goals for me as an individual, but yeah, I mean, cricket is all about one ball at a time, so I'll take it as that," she said.

India's pace bowling attack will be spearheaded by Arundathi Reddy, with Amanjot Kaur, Gaud, and Sayali Satghare sharing the workload. Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Titas Sadhu remain sidelined due to injury. Mandhana expressed her enthusiasm about witnessing the young pace bowlers showcase their domestic experience against England.

"[We have] ...A new look pace-bowling unit because unfortunately, there are a few injuries which had happened over the last four to five months, but really exciting, I mean [the] WPL has been good in terms of finding new people and of course, the domestic system as well," Mandhana said.

"[With] The amount of matches the girls play nowadays, so all these girls have a rich experience in the domestic format, so I'm really excited to see them. Young talent whenever they come in, it's always very exciting, everyone's been prepping up well, trying to do everything right and what better place than England to come to as a pacer," she concluded.