Table of Contents

NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Smriti Mandhana on Thursday said the Indian women’s cricket team is targeting dominance across all formats, with the Women’s Premier League set to play a crucial role in that journey after contributing significantly to their maiden ODI World Cup triumph.

Mandhana’s RCB will face defending champions Mumbai Indians, led by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, in the WPL opener at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday. The venue holds special significance, having hosted India’s historic first global title win last November.

We want to be the best team in the world

"Winning the T20 World Cup would be great," Mandhana said during a joint pre-match press conference with Harmanpreet when asked about the direction Indian cricket should take going forward.

"We all know that we won the (ODI) World Cup, yes, but there are a lot of things in the team that we need to work on. We really want to say that we are the best team in the world. We still have a lot of things to improve on and I am sure WPL is going to bridge that gap for us," she added.

Mandhana emphasised that India’s aim is sustained excellence rather than success in isolated tournaments, with the WPL playing a key role in raising overall standards.

"Whenever we play for India, we always discuss how we want to be the best team in the world. Not for one or two tournaments, but for the whole year. Every WPL is just getting us closer to that," she said.

Harmanpreet welcomes bigger ambitions

Harmanpreet said she was pleased to see the Indian team setting higher benchmarks for itself.

"We are not satisfied with just one World Cup. We have so much cricket coming up (and) every time we go to the field, we want to go with the best mindset — that winning mindset," Harmanpreet said.

"It is good to see that not only us, but other (new) players are also speaking about how we want to be champions all the time."

"That shows that WPL has made a lot of impact on us. Players are not in their comfort zone now. They are working really hard (and) now that gap is not there, which we used to feel when they were coming for international cricket."

WPL performances can open World Cup doors

With the Women’s T20 World Cup scheduled for June-July in England, Mandhana said strong WPL performances could put players firmly in contention for national selection.

"If there is an exciting talent and someone has an extraordinary season, I am sure there will be a place in the T20 World Cup as well," she said.

"She (Harmanpreet) will second that. But again, it depends on where she will fit (those players). The doors are never closed and if you actually have a good WPL, especially in the T20 format, you always have a chance especially (with) the T20 World Cup coming up," Mandhana added.

Mandhana also confirmed that RCB were aware well in advance that Australian great Ellyse Perry would not be available for this WPL season.

"We knew that she's not going to be available pre-auction. We had a call with her that she wanted some break for herself so the auction strategy also was around that," Mandhana said.

"Knowing it before the auction is a little better. Last season, we got to know about a lot of our injuries post-auction which is very hard."

"No one can fill in her shoes for sure. She's a legend of the game. But we have a very young team. I see a lot of buzz around the group. They're all really gelling up together," she added.

Returning to the DY Patil Stadium, Mandhana said the memories of India’s historic World Cup win remain vivid for the players.

"We exactly remember where the last catch was taken and what happened after that and where all the moments happened," she said.

"...even after 20 years when we come back to this ground, we are still going to remember exact things, what happened."

"It is always going to be there in our memory for all 16 of us. Maybe tomorrow (Friday), if she (Harmanpreet) is trying to get covers there I will just say to our girls, 'don't hit there'," Mandhana quipped.

(With PTI Inputs)