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Kolkata: Nicknamed as the female ‘Virender Sehwag” of Indian cricket, this woman is now known to all cricket lovers of her country. Despite being quite famous for her brilliant batting performances, she again shot herself to fame when she played a blasting innings of 171 runs from 115 deliveries against the mighty Australia in the semis which helped cruise India to the finals of the ICC Women’s World Cup at England. She is none other than the lady who hails from Punjab, Harmanpreet Kaur.
In an exclusive interview with www.xtratime.in correspondent Sabyasachi Bagchi, Harmanpreet shares her views.
XT: Many have started comparing your 171 innings with the legendary 175 innings made by Kapil Dev in the 83 World Cup. What is your say on this matter?
Kaur: It is a proud moment for me that my innings is being compared with the legendary Kapil Dev who gifted the first World Cup to our nation. Since my childhood I have read a lot of his special innings in different magazines and articles but it unfortunate that we were not able to witness that special innings.
XT: What was your mental condition when you came to bat against Australia who are a record 6 times World Champions?
Kaur: It was nothing different. I always like to play attacking shots and in that Australian team there were a couple of bowlers who played for Sydney Thunders so I knew their bowling styles. Hence it was not difficult for me to accustom myself with the situation. However I must thank the other players of my batting team. Else it would not be possible for me play such a long innings.
XT: Regret would still remain for you. Kapil Dev was able to bring home the trophy for India. However there was a catch miss of an important wicket from your side which resulted in the buildup of an important wicket. Even your wicket fell down at a important moment of the match. What are your thoughts on this?
Kaur: Yes this regret would still remain with me for the rest of my life that we couldn’t win the prestigious trophy. After returning to the country, I have received a lot of felicitations from everyone. Even I have been made the DSP of Punjab Police, but the regret of losing the finals will always remain. We failed to win the match by just 9 runs. People know me as a cricketer, our job was to make our country the champions, but we failed. So this failure will always haunt me.
XT: Tell us your experience of sharing the dressing room with two legendary cricketers like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami.
Kaur: Yes it is still a great experience for me share the dressing room with them. The way they have served the nation, if I could even contribute a portion of it, I would consider myself to be lucky. Despite being the legends they are extremely humble and has helped each of the youngsters, and this helped us a lot perform. The bonding of the entire team was tied up by those two.
XT: Few months back, the movie ‘Dangaal’ was released depicting the lives of Deepa and Babita and her father Mahavir Phogat. Similarly your father being a volleyball and basketball player always wanted you to play cricket.
Kaur: I used to play with the boys in my childhood where I was insulted and abused many times. The Phogat family always inspires me. But at the end of the day I am glad that along with them I too got recognition after my struggle in different sport.
XT: You got injured during the semis against Australia and as a result you couldn’t field in that game and then played the final against England. How serious is the injury that you pulled out from the England T-20Super league this season?
Kaur: Before the Australia match I received an injury in my wrist. During the Australia game, I got injured on my shoulder. I was prescribed numerous painkiller medicines and painkiller injections by the team’s physio and after taking those medicines and injections I went to the field to play the finals. I could bear the fact that I would miss out the finals by staying away from the field. I just couldn’t miss out the opportunity of playing the finals as it a lifetime opportunity. Despite being injured I wanted my side to win the game and thus I played the finals. As of now I will go the NCA for my recovery. But now the focus is on the upcoming Women’s T20World Cup in 2018.
XT: How has the Women’s Big Bash League helped your game?
Kaur: If there is a slight improvement in my career, I think I owe that to the Big Bash League. Playing in the Sydney Thunders was a brilliant experience. All of you know about the situation of Women’s cricket in the country. Though it has improved in the past 2 years I am thankful that the BCCI has thought about us and gave us permission to participate in the Big Bash League. The league is much more aggressive and it was a great opportunity for me and I grabbed and benefited from it.
XT: Tell us about the importance of Diana Edulji in your life?
Kaur: If there was no Diana Edulji in my life then the Harmanpreet Kaur you are seeing now would be entirely different. Once upon a time I didn’t get a job at Punjab and since then she has supported me throughout. I left Punjab and joined the Western railways and then played the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai. So I owe a lot to her for helping me in my tough times.
XT: Describe the incident that occurred with Deepti Sharma in the Australia match.
Kaur: Yes I am a bit hot-headed as we belong from Punjabi families. I was batting on 99 and I took 2 runs when the incident happened. I completed my century with the first run and then I showed anger as if either of us would have been out then the match would have gone to the hands of Australia. However all those are past and the matter ended there.
XT: You got recognition from the Punjab Police at last. Your thoughts on this matter?
Kaur: It is a huge achievement for me. It was my dream to join the police which is now fulfilled. I was announced as the DSP of Punjab yesterday.
XT: Who is your cricketing idol?
Kaur: I can think of no one else other than Virender Sehwag. With due respect to all other cricketers, there is no one as exciting and as aggressive as him. I try to follow him and am a die-hard fan of him. I was overwhelmed when he congratulated me after my special knock.