India women's team will open their tournament against New Zealand on October 4 in Dubai.
India is set to open their tournament on October 4 against New Zealand in Dubai and ahead of the crucial clash, Harbhajan Singh said the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will face a tough challenge from Australia and Sri Lanka in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
"I think India needs to be very careful when playing against Australia. Looking at this group, India has Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. But one match that I think will be a little tough is the India-Australia match.
Australia is a good team, even though these matches are being played in Dubai, on subcontinent pitches that might not suit them as much as their home conditions. But Australia, no matter where they play, are hard to beat. So, the biggest challenge for India may be Australia,” Harbhajan Singh said on Star Sports.
Australia has a dominant record over India, winning 23 matches in 32 T20Is. Apart from the Alyssa Healy-led Australians, Harbhajan Singh also warned India about the Sri Lanka team.
The Islanders recently defeated India in the Asia Cup final, with Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama providing match-winning performances.
Harbhajan stated: "Sri Lanka, too, after their recent series win against India, will be confident when they play against India. So, that will also be a good contest."
But Harbhajan had little doubts that India had the skill sets to land their maiden ICC title.
"Team India will be the team to beat in this tournament. They have both experience and youth. Harman (captain Harmanpreet Kaur) is in good form, Smriti (Mandhana) is in good form, and Deepti (Sharma) is an unbelievable spinner. They are a very capable team and have been playing very good cricket. The unit looks solid. If India plays good cricket overall, I believe they will win this tournament,” he noted.
Harbhajan Singh advised the Indian team to take it one match at a time, without succumbing to the big-moment pressure.
"You have to try to give your best and not take pressure. At this stage, the only thing that matters is to know yourself and play as a unit. Results will follow. Don't think about the big picture; just take small steps with each match and focus on the process. I hope if they follow these things, our team will perform very well,” he signed off.
(PTI inputs)