NEW DELHI: The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 on Wednesday officially commenced with a grand Captains' Day event at the Dubai International Stadium, uniting the captains of all 10 participating teams on the tournament's eve.
The ICC adopted a distinctive approach to the traditional captains' photo this year, inviting each captain to express their enthusiasm for the tournament individually against the impressive backdrop of the Dubai Frame, an iconic symbol of the UAE's landscape.
The unique setting for the captains' photoshoot adds a special touch to the tournament's commencement. The World Cup, set to take place across Dubai and Sharjah, will feature an exciting line-up of 23 matches compressed into just 18 days.
A special panel session, featuring all captains during the event, provided fans with valuable insights into the lives, strategies, and aspirations of the captains as they gear up for the highly anticipated ninth edition of the tournament.
Here's what all the 10 captains said about their chances at the World Cup:
Alyssa Healy (Australia Captain): "There are 10 teams sitting on the stage here today that deserve to be here and have a real shot of winning this World Cup. You don't come here to defend a title, that's not what a World Cup is about, you come here to win it, so we're here with that approach and I'm excited to get underway. "Our pool is quite a tricky one. We've got to get past a lot of these teams to be able to lift the trophy and it's a challenge we're excited for."
Harmanpreet Kaur (India Captain): "I think that is something we keep learning every day. Because when you win, sometimes you feel, OK, that is something I have achieved. But at the same time, the next day when you go, you may make small mistakes. And I think that is part of the game. And I think learning is something which is never going to stop, every day is a learning day. Every day I'm going and learning and getting experience from every game. Yeah, I think people around me, they are helping me, they are working hard to make our team go at that level where we want to be. I am happy with where our team is, like how our team is working hard to achieve small, small things."
Hayley Matthews (West Indies Captain): "You play all year long preparing and this is obviously the pinnacle of where you want to be as a team and where you want to be competing. "Every series you play, every training session you have is towards that goal of a World Cup, so [preparation] definitely is a long process, and I think one as a West Indies team we've had in our sights for a very long time. So yeah, just hoping for some success."
Nigar Sultana (Bangladesh Captain): "Yeah, [shifting the event from Bangladesh] was pretty disappointing initially. But the thing is we're very professional. Now we are here and we are going to play this and we are pretty fortunate that we will do something that is going to help all the fans and the families and friends to get cheered. "I'm expecting a lot of spectators, because in Sharjah there are a lot of Bangladeshis there. And playing in this kind of event, I think more people will come watch us and support."
Kathryn Bryce (Scotland Captain): "Yeah, I think we just really want to compete in this competition. We've played some fantastic cricket in the qualifiers and leading up to it, so I think we just want to go out there and do ourselves justice on that stage and put in some good performances against these teams."
Heather Knight (England Captain): "I think captaincy is always a constant challenge. I don't think you need that freshness as a captain. You've always been challenged in different ways and trying to learn little tricks and trying to grow in everything you do. But I think as you're there more, you learn to get your messages across in slightly different ways using the people around you. I've got through a few coaches as well, so that kind of helps freshen things up. And obviously, the team's constantly evolving, which is a place where you're obviously keeping things fresh and finding different ways to say things."
Fatima Sana (Pakistan Captain): "I will try to enjoy myself, express myself and back myself as well (as captain). Actually, our whole management is supporting me, and they told me that you just take a brave decision on the field, so just try to do this, be calm and just do whatever you want."
Sophie Devine (New Zealand Captain): "I think that's been the great thing about the women's game is the development and it's what's happened off the field I think that's helped achieve that. In terms of the quick bowlers you've seen the girls become more professional and what they've been able to do in the gym is starting to see bowlers hitting 120kms and more which it makes for a challenge. It's always exciting to be coming up against that but I think it just shows the development of the women's game that those sorts of skills continue to improve. "We've got a number of young fast bowlers coming through. And again, their development has been massive the last 12 - 18 months so certainly looking forward to seeing what sort of bowlers they can turn into."
Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa Captain): "I think obviously last year was great, but we're just looking to take it one game at a time. Obviously a very difficult pool, but hopefully we can make the semi-finals and then anything can happen from that. "It's obviously a bit different now. I think most players who have played in the team have never played under anyone besides Hilton (Mooreng). But Dillon (du Preez), who's taken over, has been with us for four or five years. So, he still knows how things were and where we're headed. And we've actually got a batting coach and a fielding coach now this season for the first time officially as well, so everything just feels really well organized at the moment. It's been great just getting a lot of information from a lot of different coaches, even just to have the extra hands at training and to have specific groups doing specific things has been awesome. We're looking forward to this tournament."
Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka Captain): "We are coming with the underdog tag all the time. So, we don't have any pressure. I don't want to take too much pressure on my shoulders and my teammates' shoulders. But we keep it simple. I have a very young team, so we have a few seniors as well. I hope we can continue our best performance, because we've been playing really good cricket the last 16 months. This is a different format and different conditions, so we have to start again, fresh days. So, keep it simple, one ball one time, one game one time."
