‘Lot of emotions involved, but it’s not like the players don’t talk to each other’- Smriti Mandhana on India-Pakistan rivalry

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to get off on October 3, and as India prepares for their campaign in Dubai, excitement is growing. The campaign against New Zealand will begin on October 4th, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur.

Smriti Mandhana, the opening player for India, talked to Star Sports prior to the competition about the team’s preparations, the difficulties of playing in the heat, and the fierce rivalries that characterise international cricket.

Despite acknowledging that the endeavour is difficult, Smriti Mandhana expressed faith in her and the Indian team’s capacity to succeed.

The players will face an additional obstacle of adapting to the new location and being ready for the heat since the tournament has been moved to the United Arab Emirates due to political unrest in Bangladesh, the original host of the event.

Coping with Dubai heat

It hasn’t been simple. Although, in comparison to other teams, we are slightly acclimated to the heat having come from India, the first few days were really exhausting. We’ll be more acclimated to the surroundings by the time we play our first game. The level of preparation has been excellent. Before heading to Dubai, we had a fantastic camp in Bangalore where we made sure everything was covered. All that remains to be done is fine-tune everything before we proceed.”

The highly anticipated India-Pakistan match is scheduled for October 7 in the afternoon in Dubai. Before the all-important match, Mandhana discussed the team’s preparation and mentality, saying that the players will become used to the surroundings by the time of the match.

Lot of emotion attached to India-Pakistan game

The heat will make the afternoon game difficult, but when you play for India, there are no justifications. It’s important to prepare, and we have a few afternoon sessions scheduled to help us become used to the conditions. I’m confident we’ll be prepared when we play Pakistan. We must be mentally tough and persistent; drinking enough water is essential.”

Mandhana responded, “I think the India-Pakistan rivalry is more about the emotions of the fans than anything else,” when asked what the rivalry means to her. It’s not like the players don’t communicate with one another; rather, what makes it so passionate are the feelings shared by both countries. We give every World Cup game our all, and every match is unique in my opinion. However, there’s no denying that the India-Pakistan games are quite emotionally charged.

Every game in World Cup is important

Apart from the India match, everyone’s attention will definitely be on the match between the defending champions Australia and India, who have caused India many heartaches in multi-team tournaments.

“You have to give it your all in every World Cup game because they are all essential. Strong teams like Sri Lanka and New Zealand exist, but when playing Australia, you know you can’t afford to make mistakes. To defeat them, you must perform at your highest level on that specific day. Australia is a fantastic team, so playing them is always exciting since it’s a big task to defeat them, Mandhana stated.

It’s a lot of fun opening with Shafali Verma

Mandhana also discussed how she tunes with skipper Harmanpreet and opening pair Shafali Verma. “Starting with Shafali is a lot of fun. We have some funny talks together. They may be so odd, I hope the mic never captures them! Having opened together for the past two to three years, we have a great understanding of one another’s games. We can often communicate with gestures alone, without even speaking. Our relationship is strong, and the team always benefits when we start a powerplay, the player stated.

Amazing to be on this journey with Harmanpreet Kaur

Since my debut, travelling this path with Harman has been incredible. We’ve watched the growth of women’s cricket during the past 8–9 years. Harman is one person that will always put up a fight, no matter what the circumstances.

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I respect her for her fierceness and her constant commitment to giving it her all. She serves as inspiration not just for me but also for the team’s younger players.”