India seek fresh start against Sri Lanka   

CHENNAI: As India take on Sri Lanka in the first of the three-match T20I series in Dambulla on Thursday, in many ways both the teams would be looking to accomplish very similar goals from the series.

For starters, it will be India’s first international assignment since their early exit in the 2022 ODI World Cup. And this will mark the beginning of a transition of sorts under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur with Mithali Raj announcing retirement and Jhulan Goswami not being a part of the tour. The hosts, led by Chamari Athapaththu, will be playing their first home series since March 2019, second bilateral series since the pandemic broke in 2020.

India are going in with a young team, with a considerable amount of experience in the batting order, but not all players are at the same stage they were in the last time these two teams played. Case in point is Jemimah Rodrigues, who was the player of the series in the five-match T20I series in 2019, has been in and out of the team since and is making a comeback of sorts in the T20I side after missing out on the World Cup.

However, Harmanpreet seemed confident that the 22-year-old will come good in the upcoming series. “She is someone who is very experienced. I know she was not there in the World Cup, but she is someone who has done well in the T20 side. I think whatever opportunity that comes her way, she is ready to grab,” said the Indian skipper in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

With Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Sabbineni Meghana, Yastika Bhatia — all of them either open or bat at No 3 in domestic cricket — in the squad, it would be interesting to see who gets to occupy the top three spots. "We do have many top order batters, including three to four of them, who can play as openers. But, we all are representing our country and whatever opportunity might come at some point, we must make the best use of it. We have many batters who can play at any position. We will try to give everyone the space to bat where they feel comfortable,” she added.

The one other Indian player who has grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the recent past is Pooja Vastrakar. However, the Indian team management is keen to manage her workload and ensure the availability of the all-rounder for the coming years. “Every player wants to give 100 per cent everytime on the field. I can understand Pooja as I also approach the game in a similar way. She is an important player and we need her for the next 4-5 years so that she can improve as a cricketer,” said Harmanpreet Kaur.

And it is not just about Pooja, but the entire squad, as well as Harmanpreet, wants to focus on fitness and fielding, the two areas going forward. The Indian worked on those aspects of the game with former India cricketer VVS Laxman, who’s now the head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy before leaving for Sri Lanka. “This was the first time we got the opportunity to share our thoughts with VVS Sir and he also motivated us. He spoke to us about a phase in the Indian team when the players had to individually give their 10 per cent extra in terms of improving our fielding and fitness,” she said.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are banking heavily on their skipper to take them through. That said, they do have some exciting young talents like Kavisha Dilhari, Harshitha Madavi and 16-year-old Vishmi Gunarathne. “We have to improve our batting. We have quite a few young players, but they do not have experience, so this is their opportunity to showcase their talents in the format. This is a tough tour, but if we play to our potential, we can beat India,” said the southpaw on Wednesday.