Harmanpreet Kaur played with men to develop aggressive batting attitude

With her brilliant performances in the recently concluded Women’s World Cup 2017, Harmanpreet Kaur has made a name for herself. The Women in Blue ended up on the losing side in the final against hosts England, but Kaur has earned a much larger fan following for herself. She is a naturally aggressive cricketer with no superficial adaptations to hide her attitude.

Fans are often reminded of the legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who is also Kaur’s idol while watching her strike the ball. To nurture the six-hitting attitude, she used to participate in games with the male cricketers. Playing those encounters helped her attain the level of aggression and ability to hit massive sixes that was on display in her superb knock of 171 not out against Australia in the semi-final.

“I like to bat in that way since childhood, I have learnt to play that way and played cricket with boys, who used to hit sixes and I liked hitting sixes,” said the 28-year old while speaking to the media. The Indian Women’s team saw a large gathering at the Mumbai airport to receive them.

Speaking about her knock against the Aussies, Kaur said: “I have played knocks like that in domestic cricket, I got the chance in international but never made a long score. That match was telecast and people saw it, we had the hunger to win that match and I was happy that I played that knock when the team needed and the team won. It was not at all difficult in terms of fitness, as I like fitness and like to play football. There were injuries, but thanks to physio, I did alright.”

Disappointed with her dismissal in the final

With the aggressive intent comes the risk of getting out. We’ve seen the Nawab of Najafgarh lose his wicket while playing an attacking shot irrespective of the situation of the game. But that’s how such players go about their business. On her dismissal in the final, the lady from Punjab said, “In the final (that India lost to England), we needed runs and I was going for runs, I played the shot thinking it will be fully covered, but it went into the fielder’s hand. I was very disappointed.”