Ujjain, May 16 (IANS) Members of the Indian women’s cricket team visited the famous Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple on Saturday. They attended the traditional Bhasma Aarti to seek blessings ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup next month.

The players who visited the iconic temple included captain Harmanpreet Kaur, along with Arundhati Kirkire, Shafali Verma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shreyanka Patil, Kranti Goud, Bharti Fulmali, Arundhati Reddy, and Deepti Sharma.

After attending the Bhasma Aarti and offering prayers, the players were welcomed by the temple committee. This is not the first time members of the Indian women’s team have visited the Mahakal temple, as players had earlier also sought blessings during the Women’s World Cup 2025 last year, which was later won by Harmanpreet’s side.

India are currently preparing for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin in England on June 12. The team has been training at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

India are placed in Group 1 of the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup alongside six-time champions Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Netherlands.

Harmanpreet Kaur & Co will open their campaign against Pakistan on June 14 in Birmingham, before taking on the Netherlands (June 17, Leeds), South Africa (June 21, Manchester), Bangladesh (June 25, Manchester), and Australia (June 28, Lord’s).

India are yet to clinch a global title in the shortest format in the women’s section. Their best result was finishing runners-up in the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The 2026 edition offers another opportunity for Harmanpreet & Co to break the jinx and add a maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Trophy to their cabinet after winning the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup on home soil.

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Nandini Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, and Radha Yadav.

–IANS

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