Harmanpreet Kaur. File photo: ICC via Getty Images
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Thursday (August 27, 2026) said her team is not singling out any opponent in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup and will instead focus on playing good cricket, while expecting a challenging tournament with the standard of Asian teams improving rapidly.
The Asia Cup features India, Pakistan, defending champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, hosts UAE, Thailand, Hong Kong China, and Indonesia.
The ODI world champions India enter the Women’s T20 Asia Cup as one of the favourites, but Harmanpreet played down the hype surrounding her team’s much-anticipated clash against Pakistan on September 5. The Indian skipper said her team would not allow external factors to distract it.
“We are not putting any focus on one particular team, which is going to be tough for us. All the teams have been doing well and our focus is to play good cricket and not to take any team easily,” Harmanpreet said at the captains’ press conference ahead of the tournament, which begins in Dubai on Friday (August 28, 2026).
“Our main focus is just playing cricket, other than giving focus to the other impact of the game.” Harmanpreet did not answer if she would shake hands with her Pakistani counterpart Fatima Sana.
The India skipper said they are treating the continental tournament as an opportunity to test themselves under pressure and build on the lessons from their recent experiences.
“Asia Cup is a platform where you can really test yourself and put yourself under a lot of pressure to perform at a level which you expect a lot from your team,” Harmanpreet said.
“This tournament is very important for us as a team to do well. Especially all the teams, they are the ones in the last two-three years we have seen massive improvement. And whenever we are playing against them, they are not giving anything easy to us.
“This is going to be very challenging, but at the same time, our experience will help us.” India had a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, but Harmanpreet believes the experiences gained from past matches will stand the team in good stead.
“All the experience we have got from the past matches is going to help us, and hopefully we will play our best cricket and enjoy cricket here,” she said.
Asked about India’s preparation for the hot and humid Dubai conditions, Harmanpreet said the team would use its training sessions and the matches preceding their opener to assess the conditions before finalising their combination.
“We just reached yesterday (Wednesday) and haven’t seen the field yet. But tomorrow (Friday) when we train, even a good thing is that two teams are playing before us. So we will get to see a lot of things and then understand how the conditions are going to be. And then accordingly, we’ll make the plan,” she said.
Harmanpreet said packed stands, such as those witnessed during India’s women’s clash against Pakistan in Dubai in 2024, were a welcome sign for the sport.
“As a cricketer, we always want to see packed stadiums. Fans are coming and supporting us. Hopefully, this Asia Cup, we have the same packed stadiums,” she said.
Harmanpreet also backed the Indian squad amid questions raised over selection by former captain Anjum Chopra.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I think we have picked the best team and they have given very impressive performances. That’s why they are here. I’m sure that whenever we go to the field, we’ll play our best cricket,” she said.
Published – August 28, 2026 04:32 am IST
