India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes her side has all the ingredients required to lift the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 title, stressing the need to remain balanced and focus on playing quality cricket rather than being weighed down by expectations.
Speaking at the Captains' Carnival in London ahead of the tournament, which begins on June 12, Harmanpreet highlighted the transformative impact of India's recent success on the growth of women's cricket across the country.
"We have seen that during last year's World Cup when we won. After that, we have seen a massive change," Harmanpreet said.
"Many girls are coming to play cricket, and I think when we do well, a lot of things change. Hopefully, we play our best cricket and try to make an impact on women's cricket."
India enter the tournament as reigning Women's ODI World Cup champions, having clinched the title on home soil last year.
"We have the potential to win the World Cup," she said. "The key is to stay balanced — neither taking too much pressure nor becoming overconfident. We just need to focus on playing good T20 cricket."
India have been placed in a challenging Group 1 alongside Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands.
The Harmanpreet-led side will open its campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 14. They will then face the Netherlands in Leeds before taking on South Africa in Manchester. India will remain in Manchester for their clash against Bangladesh before wrapping up their group-stage fixtures against Australia in London on June 28.
Despite heading into the tournament on the back of a 4-1 T20I series defeat to South Africa under Laura Wolvaardt, India will be eager to put that setback behind them and rediscover their momentum on the biggest stage.
India Squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav.
(With inputs from ANI)
