Ahead of the one-off Test against England at Lord’s, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur has urged cricket officials to schedule more women’s Test matches. The upcoming game will be only India’s seventh women’s Test since 2020. In comparison, the Indian men’s team has played 58 Test matches during the same period. Now, while there has been an increase in the number of white-ball fixtures, their red-ball exposure remains low.
The significant time required to host Test series frequently leaves women cricketers facing extensive periods of inactivity during the off-season. Harmanpreet highlighted that domestic cricket heavily prioritises limited-overs formats, which leaves athletes lacking the necessary preparation when Test matches are scheduled. Despite these challenges, she expressed confidence in the governing bodies overseeing the sport.
“As a cricketer, we definitely want to be part of many Test matches. But I think that’s totally the higher authorities’ call. Till now, I have seen all the highs and lows, and I have seen women’s cricket growing all these years. I think we are in the right hands, and they’re the right ones to take the call,” Harmanpreet said in the pre-match press conference.
“But if you ask me as a player, I definitely want to play lots of cricket and don’t want to sit at home doing nothing. We are enjoying our time, we are quite busy, and in between, we are getting opportunities. Last March, we also played one Test, and now tomorrow we’re going to get one more Test. I think things are going the right way and hopefully, in future, we’ll see many more Test matches coming up,” the veteran added.
Harmanpreet Wants More Women’s Test Matches
The match at Lord’s will be the first-ever Test match for the Indian women’s team at the famous stadium. Harmanpreet said that playing at Lord’s once felt like a dream that women cricketers never thought would come true.
“It’s a very big moment for all of us. As a captain and as a player, I’m really looking forward to this opportunity. As kids, we always dream about playing Test matches and playing at Lord’s is one of those dreams. I’m so happy that we got this opportunity. All the girls are very excited and, as a team, we’re really looking forward to it,” Harmanpreet said.