India eye World Cup glory through Women's Premier League-4

RCB captain Smriti Mandhana (left) and MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur are all smiles as they address the media on the eve of their WPL-4 opener at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana complemented each other on the eve of the WPL-4 opening fixture at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. Both first recalled the Indian women team's maiden ICC ODI World Cup win, which they celebrated just a couple of months ago (November 2, 2025 night) at the same venue. Then, they spoke about how this edition of the WPL could be the perfect stepping stone for the players to eye glory at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup to be held in England in June and July.

"Winning the T20 World Cup will be great, but we all know that we just won the [ODI] World Cup, and there are a lot of things that we need to work on. We really want to sit back and say that yeah, we're the best team in the world and the World No.1 team, but I feel we still have a lot of things to improve on. I'm sure this WPL is going to bridge that gap for us," Mandhana, who is Team India skipper Harmanpreet's deputy in the national set-up, said during a joint pre-match press conference on Thursday. Harmanpreet echoed Mandhana's feelings. "Smriti said it correctly. We are not satisfied with this one World Cup we have. There is so much cricket coming up this year and in the next two-three years, so every time we go on to the field, we want to go with that winning mindset. And it's good to see that not only the two of us, but all the other players are also coming up and thinking and speaking about how they want to be champions all the time. I believe this shows that the WPL has had a lot of positive impact on us," said Harmanpreet.

India's World Cup-winning captain went on to lavish praise on her deputy for her valuable inputs during international matches. "Smriti likes to keep discussing about the players we are playing up against. She's someone who is always giving me feedback on the field. She's really good with stats about opposition players and whenever I need it, she's always there," said Harmanpreet.

Her knowledge and skills notwithstanding though Mandhana revealed there is one aspect that she's still trying to work hard on: "I'm trying to learn aggression [from Harmanpreet], but I'm not getting it. She [Harmanpreet] is such a fierce leader. She's really passionate about the way she leads. The passion in her eyes is something that's very motivating for all of us. That's one thing I'd like to learn," said Mandhana.

Speaking about Friday's encounter, Mandhana had a funny one-liner: "I hope she [Harmanpreet] does well, but we [RCB] win." Current defending champions MI lead the head-to-head against RCB 4-3.

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No. of WPL titles won by Mumbai Indians