Gearing up for their first Test at home in almost a decade, India women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur feels the biggest challenge will be to adapt to red-ball cricket in a short span of time given the hectic international schedule.
The Indian team is scheduled to play two Tests at home — first against England from December 14 at Navi Mumbai followed by a match against Australia, beginning December 21, in Mumbai.
However, the lack of enough red-ball cricket for the women’s team is a concern for Harmanpreet, who has played just three Tests in her illustrious career so far.
“The Test series is something which we are really looking forward to because I haven’t played in front of a home crowd (since 2014), so I’m really excited for that,” Harmanpreet was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“The challenge for us is that we haven’t played with the red ball. We have been playing with the white ball for so many years.
“Even in domestic cricket also, we don’t have red-ball cricket back home. So the challenge for us is to make yourself ready in such a short time.”
Hamanpreet has scored just 38 runs at an average of 7.60 in three Tests but has nine wickets to her name that she claimed during her only home Test in November 2014 against South Africa.
Currently in Australia for the Women’s Big Bash League, Harmanpreet will play the Melbourne Renegades’ final game versus Melbourne Stars at the MCG on November 25.
