India to play fearless cricket in T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet ahead of Pakistan clash

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has promised a fearless approach as her side prepares to open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Sunday.

After the warm-up matches, the focus now shifts to the main event for Team India. Harmanpreet’s team head into the tournament after a mixed build-up, recording a convincing win over the West Indies before suffering a narrow five-run defeat against England in a last-gasp thriller. Despite the loss, the skipper believes the team has gained valuable confidence ahead of the tournament.

“These two practice matches gave us a lot of confidence. And even today, even though we lost the match, Richa’s batting was a big positive for us. That’s a big belief that if we stay on the field, we can turn the match around anytime,” Harmanpreet said after England’s warm-up game.

India were closing in on the chase of 172 against England thanks to Richa Ghosh’s amazing 68 off 36 balls. While Harmanpreet felt the team was lagging behind due to a lack of partnership during the chase, she was encouraged by the batsman’s form and ability to single-handedly change the course of the game at the wicket.

“I think it’s about the partnerships and I think we missed them. Richa just played blindly. In T20 cricket, you need a couple of partnerships in the middle, which we lacked today, but it’s good to see how Richa batted,” she said.

The India captain also revealed that the team management used the warm-ups to ensure that every member of the team gets an opportunity before the tournament begins.

“Before the first match we wanted to give everyone a fair chance and I think everyone got it,” she added.

India have been drawn in Group A alongside Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, with the clash with Pakistan expected to draw a packed crowd at Edgbaston. Harmanpreet said the team was relishing the prospect of starting their campaign in one of cricket’s biggest rivalries.

“What a way to start it. Pakistan in Birmingham. It’s going to be a sensational atmosphere. We’re really looking forward to it,” she said.

The captain made it clear that India will try to play positive cricket from the start.

“Hopefully we will play fearless cricket in our first match,” said Harmanpreet.

India entered the tournament still looking for their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup title. Their best performance came in 2020 when they reached the final before losing to Australia. The 2026 edition is the biggest Women’s T20 World Cup in history, featuring 12 teams for the first time.

Hosts England qualified automatically, while India, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand secured direct qualification through the rankings. Bangladesh, Scotland, Ireland and tournament debutants the Netherlands advanced through the global qualifiers.

A total of 33 matches will be played in seven venues in England. The semi-finals are scheduled for June 30 and July 2, while the final will be held at Lord’s on July 5.

INDIA SQUAD FOR WOMEN T20 WORLD CUP: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundantika Reddy, Shreeyan Shirthati Reddy Radha Yadav.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

11 Jun 2026 08:50 IST