Harmanpreet Kaur: Will create such setting at Mumbai Indians the place kids can stroll as much as me anytime

When Harmanpreet Kaur broke into the India’s ladies’s cricket staff method again in 2009, she appeared misplaced. With so many established cricketers within the squad, the younger Harmanpreet didn’t know learn how to heat as much as her teammates.

But then, two seniors – Jhulan Goswami and the then captain Anjum Chopra – made certain the teen felt snug within the new set-up. They would talk along with her recurrently and supply her with all of the help she required.

Years later, as Harmanpreet gears as much as lead Mumbai Indians within the inaugural version of the Women’s Premier League, she desires to create the same setting for the children, in order that they will stroll as much as her anytime and specific themselves.

“It is very difficult for a young player coming into the team to communicate with the senior players. I remember this from my early days. Now I am sure to reach out to them and speak with them because when I got into the Indian team, Jhulu didi (Goswami) and Anju didi (Chopra) made me comfortable. They were the ones who came up to me and spoke with me. They were also very keen to know about me. This is something that I have learned from them and I try to follow the same thing here with the other girls,” Harmanpreet stated.

“Previously, I did not get enough time or opportunity to get to know more about the domestic players and talk to them; like what kind of cricket they want to play and what kind of improvement they are seeking. We have someone like Sonam Yadav in the Mumbai Indians team, who played in the U-19 World Cup recently and I spoke with her yesterday. She was asking me questions on how she bowled in a couple of practice matches that we had and what I thought about her bowling.”

Being the captain and most-experienced participant within the staff, Harmanpreet, who’s additionally fondly known as ‘Harry didi’ by teammates, patiently listened to Sonam. And not simply that. As she noticed the children, Harmanpreet additionally prompt just a few issues to them.

“We also have (Dhara) Gujjar. She did really well in the practice game. Her approach towards the game, how she was running between the wickets… a lot of positives around. As a senior you also get to learn a lot from young players. This platform is important for everyone and it is nice to see the way young girls are approaching and coming up with so many questions,” she stated.

As the event progresses, Harmanpreet is assured that extra gamers will stroll as much as Jhulan for ideas. “We have Jhulu di, who is deeply involved with the girls. She already knows most of them as she was travelling with the Bengal team in domestic cricket. She knows them very well. She has shown trust in them. I think it is important for us to stay together since it is a short tournament and we are going to play back-to-back matches,” she stated, including: “Winning and losing is not in your hands but staying together and creating a positive environment is something which is always in your hands and that is what we want to continue with.”

Having performed in abroad leagues just like the Women’s Big Bash League and The Hundred, Harmanpreet is aware of the significance of correct communication with abroad gamers. “I think we are having a lot of team activities. When you have fun together, that gives you an opportunity to get to know each other. The overseas players are very friendly. There are some players who cannot speak English. I remember when I went to WBBL, I could not speak much but I went out of my comfort zone and learned this language. This is important because when you speak well, your confidence level goes up and I think if you add it to your daily routine then you will be more confident. The overseas players try a lot to make our young girls comfortable and the last two practice games that we had, gave us a lot of confidence because they communicated well because if we directly go and play there are more chances to make mistakes,” Harmanpreet stated.

“But in practice, we were able to cut down the mistakes. This is something which is more important and we take it very seriously. As players, when you communicate better you are always going to do better and during the practice games, we were able to understand how our domestic players are going to communicate with overseas players.”