Focus on WC despite WPL auction timing: Harmanpreet

CAPE TOWN: The Women’s Premier League auction is just around the corner, but India is firmly focussed on its T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan as it aims to emulate the Under-19 team’s title-winning feat, insisted skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

The WPL auction is slated to be held in Mumbai on February 13, a day after India’s T20 World Cup opening match against Pakistan here. “Before that (auction), we have a very important game and we are just going to focus on it,” Harmanpreet said at the T20 World Cup captains’ press conference on Sunday.

“The World Cup is more important than anything else. Our focus is on the ICC trophy. These things (auction) will keep coming, and as a player, you know what is [more] important for you and how you need to keep your focus. We are all mature enough and know what is [more] important for us,” added Harmanpreet.

She is keen to add another ICC title to India’s trophy cabinet after the Shafali Verma-led team clinched the inaugural Under-19 T20 World Cup crown recently. “After watching the Under-19 World Cup, we are motivated to do what it (team) did. The team has motivated us to do well; it has done it (go all the way) and we have not done it yet,” Harmanpreet said.

“It was a very special moment for all of us and after watching the U19s, many of the girls back home will want to play cricket. That is always our aim – to motivate young girls who can come and play cricket,” Harmanpreet added.

‘Auction during WC will be awkward’

New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine and her Australian counterpart Meg Lanning opined that the WPL auction being held in the first week of the T20 World Cup would be awkward.

Devine labelled it the “elephant in the room”, feeling that the players would struggle to not think about it. “It is such a unique experience, I think you would be naive to think it is not going to be a distraction. It is just how you handle that. But, I just think it is such an enormous step forward for women’s cricket,” said Devine.

Lanning echoed Devine’s thoughts. “As Sophie said, it is a little bit awkward, but it is just trying to embrace that and understanding it is actually a really exciting time. You actually do not have a lot of control over most of it, so you just got to wait and see.”