India Women's Cricket: England Series Key to T20 World Cup Prep, Mandhana Says

India's women's cricket team is set to kick off their preparations for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in England next year. A five-match T20I series against England, starting on June 28th, will serve as a crucial platform for the team to acclimatize to the conditions.

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

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her optimism about the upcoming series, emphasizing its importance in providing the team with valuable experience in English conditions. "I think because we have a T20 World Cup next year around the same time... so I'm sure these five T20s will be a good prep for a lot of the girls and for us to also see to the conditions," Mandhana stated. "I think also five T20s is a good amount of cricket in the same conditions just one year before the World Cup."

Mandhana also addressed concerns about captain Harmanpreet Kaur's absence from the pre-match press conference due to illness. She clarified that Kaur was only unwell for the day and 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 explained.

The Indian team has undergone a month-long preparation camp for the England tour, which includes both T20Is and ODIs. Several players, including Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani, are touring England for the first time. The team arrived a week early to acclimatize to the conditions. Mandhana believes this extensive preparation will be beneficial. "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," she said. "Of course, we came a little earlier here, good eight days of prep, a few good practise matches... we got to know a lot of things about the England conditions."

Mandhana acknowledged the ever-evolving nature of T20 cricket and the need for constant improvement. "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... it's a format which you have to keep improvising and keep improving because the other teams keep getting you." Despite the focus on strategic planning, she emphasized the importance of focusing on each delivery. "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."

With senior pacers like Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, and Titas Sadhu sidelined due to injuries, the pace bowling attack will be spearheaded by Arundathi Reddy. Young talents like Amanjot Kaur, Gaud, and Sayali Satghare are expected to share the workload. Mandhana expressed her excitement about seeing these young bowlers showcase their domestic experience on the international stage. "[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."

"[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... and what better place than England to come to as a pacer," she concluded.