New Delhi, Oct 5 India men’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav believes the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side can extend their unbeaten streak against Pakistan to 12-0 in women’s ODIs if they ‘focus completely on playing good cricket’. India face Pakistan in a high-stakes group-stage clash of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup in Colombo on Sunday.
“Women’s cricket is playing a different brand of cricket from the last 1-2 years as I can see. They are already playing well. But against Pakistan, I think they have been playing some good cricket. If they continue as they have been doing then I am sure mission 12-0 will happen if we play good cricket and our entire focus will be on cricket,” Suryakumar told JioStar.
Suryakumar also shared his recent conversation with Harmanpreet and candidly discussed the absence of rivalry in India-Pakistan matches. “I spoke to the captain 2-3 days ago that her campaign has started well and everyone is looking in good shape. They also had a good camp here in the Centre of Excellence before the World Cup.”
“When the mood is good in the camp when everyone creates a good culture in the camp then matches and victories actually become a by-product. My stand will never change on that.”
“Because, I will say it again if you talk about rivalry then rivalry is when you play 12 games and it’s a 6-all or 7-5 or something like that. But 11-0 I think is not a rivalry. If the women’s team also focuses completely on playing good cricket today then I am sure it will be 12-0,” he said.
Asked to predict a standout performer, he tipped Deepti Sharma as the potential game-changer against Pakistan. “I am a batsman but I always think that an all-rounder’s role is very important in a team. If an all-rounder can’t do it with a bat, then he/ she gets an opportunity to do it with a ball.”
“So, I feel Deepti Sharma maybe can be an x-factor today with the ball, with the bat. And the rest, I would like everyone to contribute from start to end. But I am sure, according to me, Deepti Sharma may be the player of the match today.”
Suryakumar also reserved special praise for vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, calling her “the most consistent performer for India” and lauding her record-breaking 63-ball 125 scored against Australia in New Delhi last month.
“When you are a home nation and play in your own country then there is always pressure on you. But at the same time, we have played so many matches in India in front of the Indian crowd so there is always good support and help.”
“But at the same time everyone including Smriti Mandhana, I think she has been batting beautifully. Most consistent performer for India. And if she continues then I think it will be everyone’s contribution.”
“It’s a good occasion for everyone to chip in, have some runs and then go on in this tournament. So, I am sure it will require a complete team effort in this game today and then obviously going forward in this tournament,” he said.
Suryakumar urged fans to rally behind the team’s quest to win a World Cup for the first time. “I am very positive this year. The way the women’s team is playing their cricket. The way the mood in the camp is because I still remember when I was injured a few months back and I was at Centre of Excellence BCCI at Bangalore.”
“They had a beautiful camp of I think 15-17 days and I could feel that and I told the coach as well and also the captain that I feel it’s a different feeling this year,” he said.
Reflecting on India’s dominance over Pakistan in the men’s Asia Cup, which they recently won in the UAE, Suryakumar recalled, “It was my birthday that day (on group stage game day). So, I knew that I could get a little gift from God. And I got it that day as well.”
“Because we had thought that we will play a good brand of cricket which we have been doing since the tournament. And we did that. And we played good cricket that day and the other two Sundays as well. And we were victorious,” he concluded.
(Auto generated news from IANS Feed. This has not been edited by enewstime desk)
