Mumbai has been special for me, want to win first WPL title: Harmanpreet Kaur

One of the most successful franchises in Men's IPL, Mumbai Indians will look to emulate the same success when they take the field led by Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Talking about her association with Mumbai in a press conference, Harmanpreet said on Thursday, "I have a special relationship with this city. My first ever job was in Mumbai and I scored my first century in Mumbai. Similarly, I want to win the first WPL title with them."

"I have always heard about the Mumbai Indians culture but here I am experiencing it and it has been fabulous. We spend a lot of time together as a team and our first week has been good," Harman added further about MI's atmosphere before the tournament.

Captaining the team which has a good mix of international stars and young players, Harman said," The most important thing will be supporting each other during the tournament. Everybody on this team will get equal opportunity, responsibility, and respect. It is a great platform for us and I want my team to enjoy and play their natural game."

Harmanpreet Kaur is one of the few Indian players to have stints in overseas tournaments such as WBBL and The Hundred. Talking about the impact of such tournaments, she said," I have benefitted immensely from my stints in WBBL and The Hundred. WPL will impact the cricketing growth of young players as they will interact with seasoned internationals and share the space with them. We never had anything like this and it will help Indian women's cricket massively."

The uncapped Indian players will enjoy a great window of learning with season coaches and professional players. "WPL is a great opportunity for me to take a look at the young Indian players which I wanted to do for a long time. I have been spending time with them and looking at how they play in our warm-up games. Jintimani Kalita and Dhara Gujjar are two players who everybody should be looking forward to," Harman shared her thoughts about youngsters in the MI camp.

The announcement of WPL has filled women's cricket fans with a lot of excitement. The venues in Mumbai are expected to witness a lot of support during the upcoming season.

"We have seen many women supporters during our international games. With WPL becoming a reality now, it will attract more female fans to the stands. We want to see more female fans in the stands," said Harman when asked about female fans in Women's cricket.

Asked if she would feel the pressure of donning the MI jersey while captaining the side, the right-handed batter replied, "Not at all, we are here to play cricket, keep doing things which we enjoy, and express ourselves."

Mumbai Indians will start their campaign against Gujarat Giants in the season opener at DY Patil Sports, Navi Mumbai.