"World Cup is more important than anything else"- Harmanpreet Kaur on WPL and T20 World Cup clash vs Pakistan

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur claimed that the team will be fully focused on their opening encounter of the Women's T20 World Cup against Pakistan, despite reports of the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction happening soon.

The WPL auction is reportedly set to take place on February 13, a day after the Women In Blue lock horns with their arch-rivals in Cape Town. While it could be a bit tricky for the players to focus, Harmanpreet claimed that the team knows the importance of winning an ICC Trophy.

At the captains' press conference ahead of the Women's T20 World Cup, here's what Harmanpreet Kaur said:

"Before that [the auction], we have a very important game and we are just going to focus on that. The World Cup is more important than anything else. Our focus is on the ICC trophy. These things will keep coming, and as a player, you know what's important for you and how you need to keep your focus."

Harmanpreet agreed that the exposure that the WPL will give to young players in domestic cricket will certainly help Indian cricket develop its talent pool. She added:

"It's a really big day for all of us because we have been waiting for years and years now. The next two or three months are very important for women's cricket. We have seen how the WBBL and the Hundred have helped their countries improve their cricket. Hopefully, the same will happen for our country."

India's U19 Women's T20 World Cup has inspired senior team: Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur also congratulated the victorious Indian team from the U19 Women's T20 World Cup and said that they have motivated the Women in Blue to go all the way in the Women's T20 World Cup.

On this, she stated:

"After watching the U19 World Cup, we are motivated to do what they have done. It was a very special moment for all of us and after watching the U19s many of the girls back home will also want to play cricket and that's always our aim to motivate young girls who can come and play cricket."

India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2023: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey.