Will miss being part of Women’s Big Bash: Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur is truly India’s first crossover women’s cricketer. In 2016, she became the first Indian to sign up for WBBL, the premier T20 competition in the women’s game that runs for six-weeks.

Indian T20 team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was set to make her fourth Women’s Big Bash league (WBBL) appearance when BCCI announced the dates of its own T20 Women’s Challenge to be played in November first week in the UAE. The two competitions overlap and Kaur will have to give the Australian league a miss. Kaur didn’t comment on the scheduling that has snowballed into a controversy, but said in an interview that she ‘would miss the WBBL’.

File image of Harmanpreet Kaur. (File)

Kaur is truly India’s first crossover women’s cricketer. In 2016, she became the first Indian to sign up for WBBL, the premier T20 competition in the women’s game that runs for six-weeks.

In June 2017, when she signed a deal to play for Surrey Stars in England’s Kia Super League, also an Indian first. That was even before she announced herself with an all-time great knock of 171 not out in the 2017 T20 World Cup semi-finals against favourites Australia.

Kaur is India’s superstar woman cricketer. But now 31, this will be the second time running that she and other Indian T20 stars will lose out on WBBL due to scheduling.

BCCI reducing its T20 challenge to four matches, to be played by three-teams, has been widely criticised for what is seen as its lack of urgency to popularise women’s cricket. When BCCI organised the inaugural T20 women’s Challenge exhibition match in 2018, it was with a promise to convert it into a Women’s IPL.

Kaur and team-mates will take what they get. She is very happy to be able to get back on the park again with the UAE matches amid the pandemic. “It is fantastic news. As cricketers we haven’t played since the World Cup (T20 2020). We are raring to get back in action.”

The Indian board has spoken of holding a team camp before the UAE games. Kaur admits lockdown induced long break leads to self-doubts. “Mental strength is what matters. You tell yourself that you have been doing it for ten years. One has injury concerns. But we have worked on strength, training, so that it doesn’t affect us,” she says.

The Moga girl remains hopeful the T20 Challenge will crystalise into a full-fledged women’s IPL soon. “It is very important for the women’s game to grow and for more talent to come out, which has been the case in the men’s game. The board is gradually building towards having the women’s IPL in a few years.”

If the pandemic does not play spoilsport, 2021 will be a World Cup year, with the ODI tournament scheduled to begin in February. “The T20 challenge in Dubai provides us the perfect opportunity to resume and kick start our preparations. I am sure we will continue from where we left off earlier this year.”