I thought of Viru Paaji when I was under pressure: Harmanpreet Kaur

Most cricket fans in India by now know Harmanpreet Kaur pretty well. After her heroics against the South African women, she has become a sensation among the cricket fans. Moreover, she is being compared to Virat Kohli after finishing the game like MS Dhoni. Such is the joy of the cricket fans all around.

It was not only the fans but even her teammates call her Virat. The stand-in Indian captain was talking to Sportstar while she told them about the same. She said “They (teammates) often call me Virat. That’s their way of showing love.”

She was also compared to Dhoni, well that was inevitable and she has taken it in as positively as she should and complacency surely wouldn’t creep in. Harmanpreet said that it is always good when you are compared to one of the best in the world. The 27-year-old said that even though her finish was Dhoni-esque, she was thinking about her idol, Virender Sehwag.

“It feels good when one compares you with someone like the (former) Indian captain. Ever since I have taken cricket seriously, he has been dominating Indian cricket. But…if you are talking about my favourite cricketer, then that has to be Virender Sehwag. Dhoni, Virat inspire me, but even yesterday, when the runs were drying up, I kept on thinking about how Viru paaji would have handled the pressure,” she said.

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The Moga girl continued talking about her idol as she said that in pressure situations all you can do is think what your idol would do. She said, “When you idolise someone, you can’t help but recollect that name at the time of crisis. That’s how I remembered paaji. But after I hit that six, even at the back of the mind, I knew it was more like Dhoni. That’s how he would have finished off.”

Harmanpreet earlier played in the Women’s Big Bash League. She said that the experience she gained their helped a lot. “Those days in Australia taught me a basic lesson — if you can adapt to the conditions, you can do anything. That’s what I believe these days,” she stated.

This young woman didn’t talk to her parents before the tournament as she felt she wasn’t doing well and there was no answer for it. Her actual words were, “I was not in a mood to talk. What would I tell the folks at home? The runs weren’t coming, and then there was injury. I was in tatters, almost.”

Harmanpreet is not in a mood to relax – she will rest for a few days before heading to National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore for her rehabilitation. “After a few days’ rest, I am off to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for rehabilitation. After that, I will start preparing for the World Cup,” she confirmed.