WPL 2024: 'WPL Was Game-Changer, Some People Were More Interested In WPL Than IPL' - Harmanpreet Kaur

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who led Mumbai Indians women to their maiden title in the first Women’s Premier League (WPL) season will have the tough task of defending it in the next season.

Kaur, who is currently playing the Women’s Hundred tournament for the Trent Rockets, spoke about the WPL and the impact it has had on women’s cricket and Indian women’s cricket.

Kaur scored 281 runs in 10 WPL matches and ended as the fourth-highest run-getter in the maiden WPL season. Mumbai Indians women defeated the Delhi Capitals women in the final to win the tournament. Speaking about WPL’s first edition, the Indian women’s team skipper said that it was a game-changer and had a real appeal to the audience.

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Audience Was More Interested In Watching WPL Than The IPL: Harmanpreet Kaur

“WPL was a game changer for us. That tournament was so good. Everyone loved it back home. The response we got…trust me, some of the audience was more interested in women’s IPL than men’s because it was something new to watch,” Kaur said on Daggers & Lyds podcast.

“They really liked it. Hopefully we’ll add more teams. I don’t know when it will happen but eventually it will. We do have very good talent back home. Those girls should get this opportunity,” she further added.

Harmanpreet Kaur then spoke about her experience playing in the overseas T20 leagues. She spoke about her experiences in the BBL and Kia League.

Speaking on her experience playing in T20 leagues outside of India, the 34-year-old shared, “When I first got to play WBBL, it was a great opportunity because before that we were all playing domestic cricket. There were no overseas players involved. Then I came for KIA league, then I got to play with English players. You need such opportunities,” she explained saying.

Kaur concluded by reliving the moments of Jhulan Goswami’s international retirement in 2022. India defeated England in the three-match bilateral series in Jhulan’s last international assignment for India.

“It was a very emotional moment for me. Growing up for us, she was the cricketer leading the Indian women’s cricket team and when I got the opportunity to play with her, she was always very nice to me. She taught me how I can adapt to international cricket. When you have a friend like that, a teammate like that, who can make you learn things quickly, you always respect her. When we got to know that it was her last series, we wanted to win it at all costs. We were really pumped up. We wanted to play our best cricket for her. And I’m really happy that we did really well, won all three games,” Kaur concluded saying.

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