Smriti Mandhana said India Women are the happiest team in the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 starting on Friday (February 21) in Sydney while claiming only debutants Thailand can give them competition when it comes to having fun in the tournament.
India Women’s team is among the youngest contenders in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2020 having average under 23 and Mandhana said India have a delightful atmosphere in the dressing room with youthful exuberance, saying if there is “no fun”, then there is something “wrong with the girls”.
Ahead of India’s tournament opener encounter against the defending champions and the hosts Australia on Friday in Sydney, she spilled the beans on the happy air of her team’s dressing room.
As per reports in ICC, Mandhana said: “This group really knows how to have fun. It’s about making the young players feel comfortable and I’ve become one with them. We have a lot of dances, a lot of singing, and a lot of things that happen. I think we’re the happiest team at the World Cup - although Thailand might give us some competition.”
She further added that the presence of the teenagers in the national team made the team’s atmosphere cool and happy, saying there is a different energy for the last two years.
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The 23-year-old continued, “You can think of the vibe if you see the age of our team. With that kind of age group, there has to be fun and if there’s no fun there’s something wrong with the girls. It’s been like that for the last one or two years. I won’t say it wasn’t like that in the years before but since the teenagers have come, there is a different energy.”
She signed off, “Young players come into it with fresh thinking, they don’t have anything behind them. They know nothing. They’re very different people to we were when we came into the side at 17. They are very fearless, they don’t have a lot of pressure on them. The teenagers -- Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, and new entrant Richa Ghosh -- contribute immensely to the high spirits of the team.”
(With ICC inputs)
