When the talks of having women’s IPL are doing the rounds,
this small town girl from Moga, Punjab is likely to become the first Indian to
play in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) which was started just last year. This
Australian league has already garnered tremendous attention and many
international cricketers are willing to play this league. Harmanpreet Kaur,
vice-captain of the Indian women’s cricket team is one of the leading favourite
overseas players, who is believed to make the cut to play in the WBBL this year.
The young and aggressive middle order batswoman has already
impressed many with her free flowing batting and electrifying fielding. Add to
this her more than handy bowling skills and Harmanpreet is a complete package
that can squeeze in any T20 outfit. She has a solid batting technique and can
take on any bowler in the world. Kaur is equally poised on the back foot and
can come dancing down the track at her own will and wish.
The winners of the inaugural WBBL; Sydney Thunder and the
runners-up Sydney Sixers have marked Kaur as an interesting choice for this
season. Early this year, when India toured Australia for a three match T20
series and a three match ODI series, the 27-year old all-rounder played a
pivotal role in India’s success in the T20. India won the series 2-1, thanks to
Harmanpreet’s special services. In the first T20 itself, the Indian
vice-captain cruised to a blistering 46 off 31 balls and helped her team chase
down a record total (from India’s standpoint) of 141 runs. Her knock
immediately caught the eyes of many and now she is in the reckoning of being
the first Indian to play the Australian league.
If Harmanpreet has the potential and the essential caliber to
play the overseas league, you cannot keep some of the other dashing players
like Veda Krishnamurthy and Smriti Mandhana too far from playing these
tournaments. Sharing the dressing room with some of the best international
players, rubbing shoulders with them and discussing match strategies will serve
as a great learning exercise to the Indian eves.
On June 1, when the BCCI led by the newly appointed
President Mr. Anurag Thakur decided to allow the Indian women cricketers to
play the foreign leagues like Australia’s WBBL and England’s WSL (Women’s Super
League), the women’s cricket fans in India and across the globe could sense
that this was the beginning of something big. “I have set a target for the women's team that by 2020 they
should be No 1 in the world”, declared Thakur. These words were like music to
the ears to all the well-wishers of women’s cricket in India.
The Indian’s women cricket is definitely traversing the path
of development and is all set to carve a beautiful picture in the years to
come.
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