A Women's IPL Will Be A Great Opportunity For Domestic Players Who Come To International Level - Harmanpreet Kaur After Another Close Loss vs Australia

India women’s T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has called for a women’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be introduced soon after India lost a last-over game to Australia on Saturday.

Australia chased down 119 in the last over, but the game was pocketed by Tahlia McGrath when she hit two boundaries to young Indian pacer Renuka Singh in the 19th over.

Harmanpreet Kaur opined that McGrath had gained such confidence by playing plenty of WBBL matches while Renuka couldn’t hold her nerves in a crunch situation.

“The reason the Australian team is doing really well is that whole season they get very good cricket. If you saw today the way [Tahila] McGrath batted, we can see that they are getting so much confidence because of the competition at WBBL. They are ready to play international cricket,” said Harmanpreet Kaur in the press conference after India’s defeat in the second T20I.

“We do have a few players who have not played as much cricket at a top-level and don’t have that experience. Like Renuka Thakur, she has done very well at the domestic level but still, she doesn’t have that much experience. Yet she did well in the first two overs,” she added.

The same thing happened with the men when they got a platform like IPL: Harmanpreet Kaur

This was the second time on this tour that India failed during the last few overs. Earlier in the first ODI as well, Australia prevailed on the last ball.

Harmanpreet Kaur asserted that Indian men’s cricket also flourished greatly after the IPL started in 2008 as the tournament made the transition of players from domestic cricket to international cricket much smoother by giving them exposure of high-pressure situations.

“But if there is a Women’s IPL, it will be a great opportunity for domestic players who come to the international level. The same thing happened with the men when they got a platform like IPL.

“Now when they play international cricket, it doesn’t look like some young talent is playing, they show maturity because they have the tag of having played 40-50 IPL games where they have played good cricket and won matches for their team.

“That is the only reason we are lacking right now. If we get to play good cricket at the domestic level before international matches then we will definitely improve as a team,” Harmanpreet Kaur concluded.

India have now also lost this multi-format series: Australia won the ODI series 2-1, drew the one-off Test, and, after the first T20I was abandoned due to rain, defeated India in the second T20I. The third T20I is scheduled for Sunday at Carrara Oval.

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