Smriti Mandhana lauds skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, says "She's fierce and always gives her best"

Ahead of the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup 2024, India batter Smriti Mandhana showered praise on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and said that the 35-year-old is fierce and always gives her best. Last month, the Indian women's team landed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the ICC Women's T20 World Cup starts from October 3 onwards. Speaking to Star Sports, Mandhana said that in the last 8-9 years, India's women's cricket has grown. She added that the youngsters in the team also look up to the skipper for motivation.

"It's been amazing to be on this journey with Harman since my debut. Over the last 8-9 years, we've seen how much women's cricket has grown. One thing about Harman is that she's always going to fight it out, no matter the situation. She's fierce and always gives her best, and that's something I admire. She's not only a motivation for me but also for the younger players in the team," Mandhana was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.

In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India again came close to making history, storming into the semi-finals. However, Australia proved to be a stumbling block once again in the final four. In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, India has had mixed results. They lost the T20I series against Australia and England earlier this year, but Harmanpreet's side bounced back with two consecutive series wins against Bangladesh.

In July, India's T20I series against South Africa ended in a draw. In the Asia Cup 2024, India lost the final to Sri Lanka, who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand on October 4 at Dubai International Stadium. In the T20 World Cup last year, Australia defeated South Africa at home by 19 runs to win their sixth title. Meanwhile, India made it to the semifinals, losing to the Aussies by five runs.

Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia (WK), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.

Travelling reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor.

Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra. (ANI)