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Former India women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur on Friday described the team's maiden Women's ODI World Cup triumph as a dream come true, saying the achievement was the result of years of hard work and expressing confidence that the team would continue winning trophies in the future.
Harmanpreet was speaking to reporters in Jaipur after a wax statue of hers was unveiled. The statue will be placed alongside those of legendary cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. "For me, it was a very big achievement. I think it was the hard work of so many years, and there was always just one dreamto make India win the World Cup. And when we won it, a very big dream came true, and I'm sure that in the coming times, we will keep winning trophies like this," she said. Asked about being placed alongside Tendulkar and Dhoni, Harmanpreet described it as a major achievement but said she still had a long way to go to reach their stature. "See, I think they are very great cricketers. I am still not at that level, but for me, it is a very big achievement that my statue is being made, and I'm sure that upcoming cricketers will get even more motivation from this and will be able to do well for the country," she said. Sharing a message for young girls aspiring to become cricketers, Harmanpreet emphasised the importance of dreaming big and working towards representing the country. "See, I think everyone should dream. When I started playing too, first of all, I had the biggest dream of representing the country. And I'm sure today here also, so many young kids have come who look so excited, and today by meeting them I can motivate them, and in the coming times, they will also motivate future generations," she said. Speaking about the future of Indian cricket and the emergence of young talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Harmanpreet expressed hope that the next generation of women's cricketers would adopt an aggressive approach and make an impact globally. "Yes, definitely, like right now he has set an example with the way he is playing cricket. And I'm sure that the new young girls coming up will also play aggressive cricket like this, and across the entire country and the entire world, they will change the image of women's cricket and try to play impressive cricket in the same way," she said. Drawing a comparison between India's 1983 Men's Cricket World Cup victory and the recent Women's World Cup triumph, Harmanpreet said the latter could bring a similar transformation to women's cricket. "Yes, definitely. As we saw when India won the World Cup for the first time in '83, after that the whole landscape of men's cricket changed. Similarly, right now the landscape of women's cricket seems to be changing, and I'm sure this is just the beginning; in the coming times, we will do even better," she added. (ANI)
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