NEW DELHI: The upcoming T20 series in India holds considerable importance as it will serve as a litmus test for the young visiting players, showcasing their performance in conditions akin to what the team is expected to encounter during the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next year, as mentioned by England women's captain, Heather Knight.
Commencing in Mumbai on Wednesday, India and England are gearing up for a three-match T20 series. The T20 World Cup is slated to take place in Bangladesh between September and October in 2024.
"I learned a lot about my game playing in Indian conditions, it really tests you as a cricketer, your skill level and how you do with the noise and the heat," Knight told reporters ahead of England's training session on Tuesday.
"It is a really good place to accelerate development, to see how our young players cope with it. We have a T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later on in the year (2024) so this tour is going to be valuable in terms of having similar conditions."
Many members of the England T20I squad touched down in India just two days ahead of the commencement of the series, scheduled to be held at the Wankhede Stadium on December 6, 9, and 10.
Knight expressed that silencing the Indian crowd would pose a challenge for her team, acknowledging that despite their dominant record against the hosts, the presence of "world-class" players makes India a "brilliant" team.
"We have had some really good T20 games against them. They have got some world-class players in and in home conditions they are going to be tough (to face)," Knight said.
After winning the ODI World Cup beating India in the final, Australia captain Pat Cummins had said that he took delight in silencing the Indian fans.
Knight said passionate crowds in India can be imposing on the visiting sides and her team will look to keep its focus amid all the noise.
"Sometimes you can feel like things are accelerating; rushed actually, when there is a crowd and the game is happening quite quickly. We have talked a lot about trying to get our own pace, maintain our concentration in the moment," the England captain said.
"Trying to silence the crowd will be tougher — watching the men's World Cup is all you see and the support and the passion that Indian fans have and having experienced that, it is a hard thing to do to silence the crowd and even if there are not many of them they are usually very loud.
“We have to have a quick turnaround, adapting to conditions has to be accelerated a bit. How we do that, how we communicate, how we are going to take 10 wickets, how we are going to score runs?"
1/10:India look to improve their disappointing bilateral record
<p>India will look to draw confidence from recent performances and improve their disappointing bilateral record against England when the two teams face-off in a three-match women's T20I series, starting in Mumbai on Wednesday. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)<br /></p>
2/10:Successful year for Harmanpreet Kaur-led India
<p>The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India have had a successful year in the shortest format so far, winning the gold medal in the Asian Games, an away series against Bangladesh by 2-1 and also making it to the final of the triangular series in South Africa, with West Indies as the third side. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)<br /></p>
3/10:England look to overcome Sri Lanka disappointment
<p>On the other hand, World No. 2 England will look to overcome the disappointment of losing to Sri Lanka 1-2 at home. World No. 4 India have a poor record at home in T20Is as well as against England in general and the hosts will hope to come up with something special. (ECB Photo)<br /></p>
4/10:Dismal record against England
<p>At home, in nine matches against England, India have only two wins to show with their most recent victory coming more than five years ago in March 2018 when they won by eight wickets at the Brabourne Stadium. In fact, it is India's overall record against England which is also concerning given they only have seven wins to show from 27 matches. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)<br /></p>
5/10:India women's last win at home came in March 2021
<p>Additionally, India women's last win at home in T20Is came more than two years ago in March 2021 when they defeated South Africa in Lucknow by nine wickets. Since then, India have lost four and tied one game while playing at home. The series also presents India an opportunity to improve their disappointing overall home record as they only have 19 wins from 50 T20Is at home with 30 losses and one tied game. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)<br /></p>
6/10:India-England look to fine-tune for 2024 T20 World Cup
<p>Both India and England were the semifinalists of the last T20 World Cup held in South Africa earlier this year. With the next showpiece event slated for September-October 2024, this series presents an opportunity to fine-tune their preparations for the edition in Bangladesh. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)<br /><br /></p>
7/10:Deepti Sharma - India's most successful bowler in 2023
<p>While Deepti Sharma has been India's most successful bowler with 19 wickets in 16 matches with a strike rate of 15.89, it is the batters who have done a commendable job this year in the shortest format, led by Harmanpreet, who has averaged 35.88 to make 323 runs in 13 T20Is with three fifties. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)<br /><br /></p>
8/10:Jemimah has a good run so far
<p>Jemimah Rodrigues has struck 342 runs in 16 matches at 34.20 with one fifty, while India's vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has topped the charts with 369 runs in 15 matches with three fifties while averaging 28.08. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)<br /></p>
9/10:Three new faces in Indian squad
<p>India have three new faces for this series with right-arm Karnataka spinner Shreyanka Patil, Punjab's left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap and Bengal's Saika Ishaque — another left-arm spinner — being roped in. (Pic Credit - X)<br /></p>
10/10:England rely on all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt
<p>For England, the veteran Nat Sciver-Brunt's all-round exploits in the WPL and her form in international circuit make her the most dangerous player. Besides scoring 332 runs at a strike rate of 140.08 and 10 wickets in WPL in Mumbai's winning campaign, Sciver-Brunt has also amassed 271 runs in only eight T20Is at an average of 45.16. (Reuters Photo)<br /></p>Knight said the past experience of playing in India, including the Women's Premier League (WPL) earlier this year should hold her side in good stead.
"We have got some good experience of players playing in India as well which will be valuable. It will be a brilliant series between two best teams,” she said.
Having participated in the WPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, where Knight shared the dressing room with Indian players such as Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Kanika Ahuja, the England captain emphasized the mutual aspect of knowledge-sharing, highlighting that it works both ways.
"It is brilliant that some of the RCB girls have got the chance to play for India on the back of what they did in the WPL. It works both ways, obviously I know those players better and they also know my game better,” Knight said.
Despite England's impressive record of seven wins in nine T20Is against India on Indian soil and a total of 20 victories from 27 matches overall, Knight emphasised that it doesn't necessarily translate into a comfort factor regarding their knowledge of the conditions.
"It feels like a long time actually since we have been to India, before that 2019 series we had a lot of tours here,” she said.
"It is how the Future Tours Programme pans out, and obviously, playing another WPL here in the calendar, there is going to be a lot of cricket here which is brilliant."
(With PTI inputs)
