Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh shared his experience of playing a home World Cup as he offered insights to the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side ahead of the Women’s World Cup on home soil.
Speaking at a special ‘50 days to go’ event in Mumbai, attended by ICC chairman Jay Shah, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and batter Jemimah Rodrigues, Yuvraj advised the Women in Blue to focus on the process rather than the results.
Yuvraj, who earned the Player of the Tournament award during India’s triumphant campaign in 2011, stressed that there is no escaping the pressure of expectations when playing in front of capacity crowd at home.
India, who made it to the final of the 2017 Women’s World Cup, failed to progress beyond the group stages in the 2022 edition. However, the team enters the home tournament on the back of impressive form, having won four of their last five bilateral series, including an away series victory in England last month.
“I feel it’s a great opportunity to create history. But that doesn’t mean that from the start, you think you’re going to win it. You have to experience the whole enigma of it. You have to focus on the process, and the results will come,” Yuvraj said, as quoted by the ICC.
“I think [the women’s team] lost a couple of finals. We’ve been there. It’s really important that you enjoy this moment. Be in the moment rather than thinking too far ahead," he further stated.
India failed to go beyond the group stages when the ODI World Cup was last time played at home in 2013. However, they made the semifinals in 1997.
“The fans are always wanting fours and sixes, or wickets. That’s the game. They come to watch. They want entertainment. They want to be entertained,” Yuvraj added.
“But the point is that if you want to win the World Cup, you have to be in the kind of situation we were in, I think. There will be times when they’re going to feel that pressure.”
“There will be times when things aren’t going to go well. And that’s when experience and self-belief have to take over — the belief that I can be the player in this moment. I think every time you walk onto the field, you have to believe that,” he further remarked.
India will travel to Australia for a three-match ODI series between 14 and 20 September before returning home. Harmanpreet and her side will face England and South Africa in two warm-up matches before starting their World Cup campaign against Australia.
Star opener Smriti Mandhana said the team has worked not only on skills but also on the big-match temperament required to flourish in marquee events.
“The mindset has changed over the last two or three years. There’s a calmness with which I want to go about things on the field,” Smriti said.
“Our whole team is heading in that direction. We know where we want to work hard. And when we enter the field, we know we just have to implement,” she added.
Mandhana also highlighted that the side is focusing on staying in the present rather than aiming for specific milestones.
“Whenever we’ve done well on the field, everything else has taken care of itself. We are preparing really, really well. We’ve had a preparation camp, an England tour, and one tour ahead of the World Cup. To be honest, that’s the only thing we are thinking about.”
