The captain of the Indian women's cricket team Harmanpreet Kaur is "really excited" to don the whites after a gap of more than two years as India are slated to play a Test match against England starting December 14 at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
The solitary Test against England has historical significance as it marks the return of Test cricket (in the women's circuit) to Indian soil after a period of nine years. India last played a Test match at home against South Africa who were led by Mignon du Preez at the Gangothri Glades Cricket Ground in Mysore in November 2014 under the leadership of Mithali Raj.
Harmanpreet, 34, has fond memories of the game. Though she managed to contribute with just 17 to India's mammoth first innings total of 400/6d, she ripped the South African batting order to shreds with her off-spin and grabbed match figures of 9/85. Her sensational display with the ball saw India hammer the Proteas by an innings and 34 runs.
The India captain is "really looking forward" to the opportunities that lie ahead in the form of Tests but is also cognizant of the challenges that are to come alongside. In addition to that, the right-handed batter is currently busy rendering her services to her Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) side Melbourne Renegades and won't leave the Australian shores before their final league stage game scheduled to be played on Saturday, November 25.
Her WBBL commitment leaves her with just 10 days to prepare for the home series against England.
"The Test series is something which we are really looking forward to because I haven't played in front of a home crowd [since 2014], so I'm really excited for that. The challenge for us is that we haven't played with the red ball. We have been playing with the white ball for so many years, even in domestic cricket also we don't have red-ball cricket back home. So the challenge for us is to make yourself ready in such a short time," Harmanpreet was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"I had that thought if I can simultaneously do some red-ball practice also, but because it's such a packed schedule you can't mix things. We're playing T20 cricket and the Test game is a totally different kind of game, so I didn't want to mix it. When I'm going back, I have ten days to prepare myself," Harmanpreet said.
