Athapaththu looking forward to making big change by winning

The eight captains of the 9th Women’s T20 Asia Cup pose with the trophy 

• 9th edition of Women’s Asia Cup gets underway in Dambulla today

The 9th edition of Women’s Asia Cup gets underway in the T20 format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium today and five times runner-up and this year’s host country Sri Lanka are determined to make it count and break the ice.

“We know that we have done well in the past 12 months but all that is in the past. This is a new tournament. What is important is to perform. The way we have been playing, if we come to the final, we know what is required of us to win the tournament. Looking forward to making a big change in this Asia Cup,” said Sri Lanka women’s captain Chamari Athapaththu at the media conference yesterday.

“We are in a good space having recently won against teams like New Zealand, England, South Africa and West Indies, but in this format the game can change at any time. We are playing on our home soil, and we are prepared to give our best cricket. We have some good, experienced players in our side as well as some young players. We can’t take any side for granted because all of them have come to win the Asia Cup. We plan to take it match by match.”

“We tried a few things in the last couple of bilateral series, so this Asia Cup is a good preparation for the T20 World Cup. We hope to continue with our best performance in the Asia Cup as well. This platform is really good for the Asian region and Asian cricketers. I hope an Asian country wins the next World Cup,” said Athapaththu.

Reigning champions and seven times winner of the Asia Cup, India starts the tournament as strong favourites to retain the title. 

“The challenge is to keep doing the right things which we have done in all the Asia Cups. We want to play the same type of cricket and keep dominating other teams. Enjoy our cricket and do what we have done in history,” said Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

“This tournament is important for all of us to prepare ourselves for the T20 World Cup. At the same time, we give equal respect to this tournament because it will help Asian cricket to improve their cricket all over the world. Our focus will remain the same, how we prepare for the T20 World Cup each and every game is important for us to win. We will give our best.”

Pakistan captain Nida Dar said they had come to win the trophy.

“The Asia Cup is very important for every country, and we are here for the trophy. Every game is important, and every moment is important for us. Especially in Asian countries like Sri Lanka which are looking very good for the batters. We are all going to challenge each other, and we are going to win this trophy.”

The Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana said, “It is a very good opportunity for all of us to get ourselves prepared for the T20 World Cup. We are hosting the World Cup, and it is a very good chance for us to prepare ourselves.”

UAE captain Esha Oza said a tournament of this nature gave them much needed exposure.

“The Asia Cup gives us a platform to play the better sides in the Asian region. As an associate country we’ve been playing against the lower ranked teams, but this tournament will give us the much-needed exposure. We played in the Asia Cup two years back and we were all nervous but this time we are well prepared and looking to have a great outing.”

Nepal’s captain Indu Barma as associate players were excited and very lucky to get the chance to play in such a big stage.

Eight teams are competing in two groups with the top two sides qualifying to play in the semi-finals.

The tournament opens today with Nepal playing UAE at 2 p.m. followed by the mega clash between India and Pakistan at 7 p.m. Sri Lanka’s opening game is on Saturday against Bangladesh at 7 p.m. 

– (ST)