Mumbai: After the high of World Cup glory just over two months back, Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur wants to replicate the same success in the upcoming Women's Premier League (WPL) by defending the title.
With the league starting January 9, Harmanpreet and Co will be aiming to retain the crown they won in 2025 by taking inspiration from the historic World Cup glory that has ignited women's cricket in India.
"Whenever I go on the field, I tell my team that I want to win the trophy. This new year starts with the WPL and I have the same energy and excitement going into the tournament. We have the same mindset. We have won two trophies in the last three seasons. And we want to play well this season and win the trophy again,” Harmanpreet asserted during the Mumbai Indians’ pre-season press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The India Women captain also spoke about her special affinity towards Mumbai and therefore the franchise.
“My first job was in Mumbai and I think it's a very special city for me because whenever I get a chance to play here, I always get to see positive results. I am sure this season is also going to be very special. I am really happy that last season and last year turned out to be very good overall for women's cricket. I hope this year also starts the same way,”she added.
When asked if it was going to be harder to clinch the WPL title this time around, Harmanpreet revealed she enjoyed the competition.
"See, I think as a cricketer we really want competition to be there because if competition is not there then you don't enjoy much. So I think every season we have seen every team was improving and competition was at their peak and this season even more exciting because things look quite balanced. So, as a cricketer I like to be in challenges because otherwise one side cricket even we don't enjoy and even the audience will not enjoy. So I think it's a good sign that teams are balanced and we are going to have fun on the field," she added.
This time, the team will also look forward to taking inspiration from two-time World Cup winner with Australia Lisa Keightley, who takes the helm for her first WPL season with Mumbai Indians.
Lisa, reflected on having an all-female coaching staff and how it reflects MI’s ethos Nita M Ambani’s vision to empower women through sport.“To have a full female coaching panel is really exciting and something different for me. We're giving an opportunity for supporters and females across the world to actually see females in the coaching space. From that point of view, I would love to see it more often and I think over the next 10 years you'll see that.
“To have a female leader in powerful positions making decisions as Mrs Ambani also plays a part in why we've got females in our coaching staff. So it starts at the top and it's filtered down. So it's really fantastic to have those opportunities,” Lisa concluded.
Voicing her thoughts on new head coach Lisa, MI Mentor and bowling coach Jhulan Goswami said, “It’s a blessing to work with her as she has 20 years of coaching experience. We can learn a lot under her leadership. At MI, we believe that women should always come forward and I think having an all-female coaching team is the best thing for us.
Having retained the core from last year’s winning squad, Mumbai Indians are set to take WPL 2026 by storm.
