Captain Harmanpreet Kaur upbeat about India's T20WC chances with strong batting core

Mumbai: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is confident about India's fortunes at the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024.

After reaching the semi-finals in each of the last three Women's T20 World Cups, India are yet to get their hands on the elusive trophy, but skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is determined to break the jinx when the 2024 edition gets underway in the UAE.

"It was hard as last time we came so close as we lost the semis," Kaur said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"But every time you need to think about the positives, work hard on yourself and your fitness. We’ve tried to tick all the boxes before going into the tournament," she said.

India have had mixed results in bilateral T20Is since the end of the last tournament in 2023. They beat Bangladesh twice (including a 5-0 win in the series earlier this year), but lost series to Australia and England prior to that.

A drawn series against South Africa in July was their final bilateral T20I series ahead of the tournament.

"We’ve had some tough tours and series on the way to this T20 World Cup," head coach Amol Muzumdar said. "Really happy with the way they’ve performed."

India's biggest heartbreak since the last T20 World Cup came in the Women's Asia Cup, where they lost the final to Sri Lanka and conceded a tournament they have bossed in the past, an ICC report said.

Kaur and Muzumdar spoke about the psychological aspect of the game and how the team has sought ways to improve there.

"In the Asia Cup finals, we sat as a team and discussed areas of improvement," Muzumdar said.

"We had a camp on fitness where we didn’t touch skills, where we employed a sports psychologist. This was different from the skills camp. I was very satisfied with the side’s work."

There were also open conversations that helped the team. "Personal conversation helps you understand which areas to work on with respect to players," Kaur added.

"And which department they need to work on. We had a few sessions, when everyone talked to each other, and spoke how they were feeling.

"Working with Mugdha ma’am (sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare), we really felt good and we wanted to execute it on the ground. It’s been helping us."

The skipper and coach remained positive about India's top six in the batting line-up, which boasts big names. Muzumdar hailed the top six as the "best in the country", but the No.3 spot in the batting line-up remains a mystery.

"The top six are brilliant, the best in the country," the head coach said. "Of course, we’ve identified who plays No.3 but we’ll only reveal that just before the XI is announced.

"No.3 is really special to us. I know for a fact that a No.3 position sets the game. We’ll reveal it only closer to the game."

Dayalan Hemalatha has batted the most times in that No.3 position in T20Is since the last tournament for India, but she hasn't had much success in the role.

There are a few other options up India's sleeve but it remains to be seen whether they break the trio of Kaur, Jemimah and Richa Ghosh, set from No.4-No.6, and use one of them at No.3.

A bigger conundrum will be the bowling combination. "We have mostly night games," Kaur said. "Dew plays a big role in UAE. We’ve good spinners, but we also have Pooja and Renuka, who can also have an impact.

"Right now it’s difficult to tell (without assessing conditions). We’ll see the conditions, and pick the most effective player on a given day."

India begin their T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Dubai on October 4.