New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said that the Women in Blue want to make ‘winning a habit’ after their historic Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 title win. She believes the landmark victory has shifted the team’s ambitions from chasing history to building sustained dominance.

India’s maiden ICC women’s title transformed the mood around the team and intensified expectations ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup in England. But for Kaur, the achievement was only the beginning of a larger journey.

“Winning that World Cup was a seminal moment for women’s cricket in India. It was bigger than one trophy. Most importantly, it brought belief and showed young girls that the highest stage is not out of reach,” Kaur wrote in her ICC column.

“The Women’s World Cup 2025 win gave us a massive boost in confidence. However, it was only the beginning. We want to make winning a habit. While the 2025 World Cup win gave us immense joy, it also gave us responsibility. We know expectations will rise, and that brings pressure, of course, but it is a good kind of pressure. It tells you that you have earned something important, and now you have to recreate it again,” she mentioned.

India head into the tournament after a demanding stretch of international cricket that tested the side across different conditions and situations. They swept Sri Lanka at home, secured a milestone T20I series win in Australia, their first there in ten years, before suffering a difficult series defeat in South Africa.

With a tour of England next on the schedule, Kaur believes the experiences have helped sharpen the squad ahead of another global challenge.

“We would like to carry forward the confidence and belief from that win into the T20 World Cup. We know the standards we want to maintain, and the recent T20I series against Sri Lanka, Australia, and South Africa have helped us test ourselves and given us plenty of learnings,” she stated.

Kaur acknowledged that success in the T20 format leaves little room for error, particularly in high-pressure ICC tournaments where games can turn within a few deliveries.

“Winning this tournament would mean a great deal. Every ICC trophy has its own challenges. The format is shorter, the margins are smaller, and the pressure is greater. We will have to be sharper right from the start, and winning the key moments will be crucial,” Kaur said.

The India skipper also sees the tournament as an opportunity to usher in a more sustained phase of success for the national side.

“If we win this tournament, it would signal the beginning of a stronger and more consistent era for Indian women’s cricket,” she added.

India’s squad for the marquee event combines established match-winners with emerging names who have rapidly progressed throu gh the domestic system. Four players, Bharti Fulmali, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani and Kranti Gaud, are set for their maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup appearances.

Kaur credited the rise of the Women’s Premier League for expanding India’s talent pool and preparing young players for international pressure, writing, “What excites me about this squad is the balance we have. There is talent, fearlessness, and a good mix of experience and youth. A lot of credit goes to the Women’s Premier League (WPL). It has unearthed real talent and given players regular exposure to pressure situations, higher standards, and some of the best cricketers in the world. The players have grown in maturity, and the league has helped build a winning mindset.”

England also remains a deeply emotional venue in Kaur’s cricketing journey. Her unforgettable unbeaten 171 against Australia during the 2017 Women’s World Cup semifinal remains one of the most iconic innings in the history of the women’s game and helped transform public perception of women’s cricket in India.

“My memories of the 2017 World Cup in England are still very fresh. My 171 against Australia changed a lot of things in my life. The team’s performance in the tournament was a turning point for Indian women’s cricket.”

Though India fell short in the final that year, Kaur recalled the overwhelming reception the team received after returning home, a sign that the women’s game had entered a new phase of recognition and popularity.

“While we could not cross the finish line in the final, the reception we got from fans and the media on our return home was something special. That campaign made people sit up and take notice. Since then, the women’s game has grown a lot,” she recalled.

Now, nearly a decade later, Kaur believes Indian women’s cricket is entering another defining chapter, one built not only on progress, but on consistency and sustained excellence.

“Looking back, I feel proud of how far we have come. Looking ahead, we want to keep getting better, pushing the standard higher and making winning a habit,” she said.

India have been drawn in Group A alongside Australia, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Pakistan and South Africa. They begin their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Birmingham on June 14.

–IANS

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