Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s latest World Cup-winning captain, is still overwhelmed with emotions, recalling how picking up her tragic sporting father’s “big” cricket bat as a child sparked a dream that has now become a reality.
After leading India to a 52-run win over South Africa in the Women’s World Cup summit in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, Harmanpreet, in a video released by BCCI, recalled her childhood and also gave one piece of advice to aspiring young players – “Never stop dreaming. You never know where your destiny will take you.” “Since then, I was a kid, and I always had a racket in my hand. I still remember that we used to play with a racket from my father’s tool bag. The racket was very big. One day, my father made a small racket for me from one of his old rackets. We were playing with it.
“Whenever we used to watch a match on TV, or watch India, or watch the World Cup, I used to think I need an opportunity like this,” said Harmanpreet, whose father, Harmanpreet, played cricket and football before settling on a job as a clerk in a local judicial court in Moga in Punjab, the city where she was born. “At that time, I didn’t even know about women’s cricket.” And he grew up.
With strong support from her father, the journey that began when she was a child culminated in Harmanpreet winning the World Cup on Sunday. None of it was easy, but Harmanpreet said she was not one to get bogged down in the challenges that are part and parcel of women’s cricket.
“I was dreaming, ‘When am I going to wear this blue jersey?’ So I think it means a lot to me, a young girl who knew nothing about women’s cricket, but still dreamed that one day, I want to bring this change to our country.
“And I think all of this goes to show that you should never stop dreaming. You never know where your destiny is going to take you. You never think, when is it going to happen, or how is it going to happen. You just think, it’s going to happen.”
“So, I guess that was my self-belief, that this could be possible. And that’s exactly what happened.” The 36-year-old said she feels relaxed and humbled after fulfilling her childhood dream.
Story continues below this ad
“Personally, it is a very emotional moment,” she said, emotions still heavy in her voice. “Because it has been my dream since childhood. Since I started playing, my dream has been to win the World Cup one day. If I have the opportunity to lead my team, I do not want to waste this opportunity.”
“So, I said all these things from the bottom of my heart. And God heard everything one by one. It’s like magic. I don’t understand how suddenly everything fell into place. And everything kept happening one after another.
“Finally, we are world champions. I feel very relieved, very humbled, and I feel grateful to God that he has given this team, which we have dreamed of for so many years, and we are living this moment.” Harmanpreet also recalled the huge reception the Indian team received back after losing the 2017 Women’s World Cup final to England in London.
“…We were very sad. We lost the match by nine runs. We didn’t understand how it happened because that match was also completely under our control,” she said of the 2017 final, where India were bowled out for 219 in 48.4 overs while chasing 229 runs.
Story continues below this ad
“But after our return, the kind of welcome and motivation we received from the Indian fans showed that not only us, but the entire country was waiting for women’s cricket to do something special for them and the country.” This team, led by Mithali Raj, had top players of the current team like Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma.
“Everyone was waiting for this moment. And I think it was with everyone’s blessings and prayers that we were able to cross that line. I don’t think we were playing alone on the field.
“Everyone, the whole stadium, the people who were watching us on TV, everyone came together to win the title. Because we couldn’t have done it alone.”
(Tags for translation) Harmanpreet Kaur "never stop dreaming" BCCI Video
