The International Cricket Council has named Harmanpreet Kaur the captain of its women's T20 International team of the year, recognising the explosive Indian batter for her captaincy and batting during the ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
Currently playing in the women’s Big Bash League for the Sydney Thunders, Harmanpreet Kaur told SBS Punjabi that it was an unexpected honour.
"To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it. But the ICC has recognised my skills & performance and has given me this huge responsibility. I am very happy with it. Now my main focus will be to liaise with the team members who are coming from five cricketing countries and work out strategies," she said.
"It is no doubt a sense of achievement but it also brings heaps of expectations at the same time. Girls across the globe have adopted T20 format very quickly and easily and the result is in front of us all."
Kaur captained India in the 2018 ICC Women's T20 World Cup and saw her side through to the semi-final while scoring 183 runs at a strike-rate of 160.5 in the tournament. During the calendar year, she played 25 matches and scored 663 runs at a strike-rate of 126. She's currently the number 3 ranked T20I batter in ICC's women ranking.
Cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur plays for Sydney Thunder in Women's Big Bash League in Australia. Source: Supplied
Harmanpreet was awarded the coveted sports award, the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in November 2018 for her excellent performance during the year 2017.
"I dedicate my Arjuna Award to my parents who have stood by me and supported my love for cricket all this time. In India, boys have more opportunities than girls but still my parents provided me everything that I needed to achieve international recognition," she said. 
Sharing her workout routine with SBS Punjabi, Harmanpreet said it's important for everyone to be in the best shape possible.
Harmanpreet credits this success to her India-based cricket coach. Source: Supplied
"Fitness is most important especially in sports but even in normal life, one must remain fit. I work out 30 mins in the gym every day followed by 2 hours of groundwork when the season is on."
Like most of us, the swashbuckling batter from Moga (Punjab) also requires expert advice from time to time. And in her hour of need, she turns to Virender Sehwag - someone who best embodies her batting style.
Two other India players, Smriti Mandhana and Poonam Yadav have also been named in the ICC's women's T20I team. Both Mandhana and Yadav have also been included in the ODI team of the year. However, Harmanpreet couldn't find a berth in the team for the longer format.
Harmanpreet Kaur of the Thunder hits for six during the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) match between Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat. Source: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne
"While I am very happy on my selection as T20 captain, I think my performance in one-day games wasn’t enough for ICC to include me in that team," she said.
