Mandhana: WPL is getting India closer to being a dominant force

Harmanpreet Kaur has said that India are not "satisfied with just one World Cup", while Smriti Mandhana added that the next target is the T20 World Cup 2026, with the WPL providing an important pathway toward that goal.

India's captain and vice-captain, who will lead Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru respectively in the opening game of WPL 2026, highlighted how the upcoming edition can help ODI champions India carry the momentum into the T20 World Cup in June.

"Winning the T20 World Cup would be great," Mandhana said. "We won the [ODI] World Cup but there are a lot of things in the team we need to work on. We really want to sit back and say, 'yeah we are the best team in the world and world's No. 1 team'. I feel we still have a lot of things to improve on. I'm sure WPL is going to bridge that gap for us in the coming years. Whenever we play for India, we always discuss how we want to be the best team in the world not for one tournament or two tournaments, but the whole year - any cricket we play [we want to] dominate it. I think every WPL is just getting us closer to that.

"It's just been one-and-a-half months [since India won the ODI World Cup] and WPL is going to carry it [the momentum]. It's always exciting to come back to WPL because the domestic players get to play with the internationals and the whole experience is just a very good thing for women's cricket so I'm sure WPL is going to carry the momentum what World Cup did and hopefully it just keeps continuing for the next... forever."

Harmanpreet said she was encouraged by how the younger players coming into the Indian side are aligned with the seniors' goals, crediting the WPL for instilling a "winning mindset".

"...we are not satisfied with just one World Cup," Harmanpreet said. "We have so much cricket coming up this year and in the next two-three years, so every time we go to the field we want to go with the best mindset and that winning mindset we have been always talking about.

"It's good to see that not only us, but other players are also coming up and thinking and speaking that we want to be champions all the time. I think that shows how WPL has made a lot of impact on us."

Harmanpreet also explained how the tournament helps young players prepare by exposing them to high-pressure moments. "Players are not in their comfort zone now. They are working really hard, they are playing against overseas players, they are playing with overseas players, so I think they are learning a lot from them. Now that gap is not there which we used to feel when they [used to] come for international cricket. I think the WPL has had a lot of impact a lot on our cricket. I am really happy that as a team we are setting bigger goals."

With less than six months to go for the T20 World Cup in England, Mandhana highlighted how the WPL can offer opportunities for players outside the current India squad to stake their claim.

"It's always exciting to see talent coming up in WPL, so I would never say that the doors are always closed and no one's going to get anything out of this," she said. "If there's an exciting talent and someone has got an extraordinary season, I'm sure there will be a chance for the T20 World Cup. She [Harmanpreet] will second that. But again, it depends on where she [the player] will fit in. But I'm sure that the doors are never closed. I'm sure that everyone knows that if you actually have a good WPL especially in the T20 format, you always have a chance."