Harmanpreet Kaur eyes South Africa T20Is as India’s World Cup preparation series

India women will begin their five-match T20I series against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban on Friday, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur framing the tour as a direct build-up to the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England in June-July.

The series comes at a time when India’s T20 form has sharply strengthened. Since lifting the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, the side has swept Sri Lanka 5-0 at home and followed it with a landmark 2-1 T20I series win in Australia, their first such result there in a decade. With travel to South Africa reportedly staggered in three batches due to the West Asia aviation disruption, the focus has quickly shifted from logistics to tournament preparation.

Harmanpreet links recent form to World Cup confidence

Harmanpreet said the ODI World Cup triumph has changed the team’s mindset heading into major away assignments. She said

“Yeah, definitely. I think after the (2025) ODI World Cup (triumph), our team is looking quite confident. Wherever we are going, we are going with a lot of confidence, and we have seen that, playing against Australia. Our team is looking in good shape. And before the (T20) World Cup, the South Africa series is very important for us.”

She added,

“Hopefully, we will play our best cricket here as well. And I think it's a great opportunity for us before the (T20) World Cup to (make it) all come together and play our best cricket.”

The straight statistical reading supports the confidence: eight wins in the last eight women’s T20Is across Sri Lanka and Australia, giving the side momentum in the format that currently holds priority over ODIs and Tests.

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South Africa challenge and youth focus in spotlight

Harmanpreet also underlined why South Africa, finalists in the last two T20 World Cups, were the preferred opponents before the global event.

“The South African team is quite a balanced side. They have very good players. They have good all-rounders who always come up when the team needs them.”

She said beating strong teams before ICC events creates the right kind of confidence, adding that T20 cricket remains the “main target” despite the earlier 3-0 ODI defeat and one-off pink-ball Test loss in Australia.

With Amanjot Kaur unavailable through injury, India are expected to closely assess 22-year-old all-rounder Kashvee Gautam. Harmanpreet described her as a player who can contribute in all three departments, making this series especially significant for younger players pushing for World Cup roles.