Breaking the pattern: How India can end ICC title wait

Resilience will be as important as skills and tactics for India in the home World Cup, say experts

- Samreen Razzaqui

For the Indian women's cricket team, ICC tournaments have often followed a frustrating arc. Flashes of dominance, breaching the knockouts, and then heartbreak. It’s happened nine times in ICC events across the two formats — so near, yet so far.

At a recent ICC event, captain Harmanpreet Kaur said: “Hopefully, this time we will give our 100% and try to break that barrier for which all Indian fans and we are waiting for.” Maybe it's not the skills or strategy that prevents these contenders from becoming champions but it is composure that is dictating their story on the big stage.

Mental conditioning coach Anand Chulani, who has worked with Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and several IPL franchises, believes the words we use can decide whether pressure becomes empowering or paralysing.

“Language is extremely important. It casts a spell,” he told HT. “Repeatedly using words like ‘barrier’, ‘choking’ often creates mental blocks. Instead, choosing empowering vocabulary like ‘challenge’ instead of ‘problem’ and asking questions like ‘how can I express myself fully and enjoy each moment? rather than ‘what if I don’t perform?”