Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 7 (ANI): Mumbai Indians (MI) and India's World Cup-winning skipper Harmanpreet Kaur spoke on how the arrival of Women's Premier League has led to improvement in levels of players' confidence due to an increase in the number of games, which prepares them for the bigger stages.

Harmanpreet was speaking on the sidelines of her franchise's pre-season press conference ahead of the campaign opener against 2024 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Navi Mumbai on Friday.

Speaking to the media after the press conference, Harmanpreet recalled that the earlier lack of games had affected players' confidence, as they were thrown into the high-pressure environment of Team India with limited experience.

'Your confidence grows as you play more cricket. Earlier, only one thing lacked - our players did not have many matches to play. When girls entered the cricket world, they were new and had limited experience. And they were suddenly a part of Team India. But as you keep playing on different platforms, your confidence grows. WPL has brought those changes into our lives because we have played with and against good Cricketers. So we are growing more confident and becoming aware of how to play in pressure situations,' she said.

Harmanpreet also said that the WPL offers a high level of competition against some of the biggest names in international cricket has offer.

'If you can play well here, you will meet the same players in international cricket. So, if you play well against them here, it remains etched in everyone's mind that a particular player did really well in WPL. So, you play well in WPL and have a good season, doors open for you,' she added.

With the inaugural WPL title and last season under her belt, Harmanpreet is the most decorated captain in WPL history, with two titles. In 27 matches and 26 innings, she has scored 851 runs at an average of 40.52, with a strike rate of 143.5, with eight fifties and a best score of 95*. She is MI's top run-getter and overall fifth-highest run-getter. (ANI)