New Delhi [India], September 2 : Australia legend Meg Lanning has shared insight into the added expectations and challenges playing in a home World Cup creates, something India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her India teammates will soon face.
Lanning led Australia to their seventh ICC Women's Cricket World Cup crown in New Zealand in 2022 and also captained the side to their four most recent ICC Women's T20 World Cup titles, which included a famous home triumph over India in the final at the MCG in 2020.
"There's definitely a lot of added pressure at a home World Cup. You just get more media, there's more scrutiny and there's very high expectations. So it's an added layer to everything," Lanning told ICC Digital.
"You can think about and plan as much as you want, but until you're actually in it - and especially if things don't go well - that's when there's another added (pressure) bit," she added, as quoted from the official website of ICC.
"We certainly had that in our home (T20) World Cup (in 2020) in the first couple of (group) games. We didn't get off to a good start, and we were under a pump pretty quickly," she noted.
Lanning believes hosts of the upcoming marquee tournament can expect a similar added level of expectations.
"It's certainly different and something that the home teams in India will face this time around in terms of just an added layer of pressure," Lanning added.
Delving into the flip side of playing at the biggest stage in front of home fans, Lanning also shared the positive experiences of captaining the team at a home World Cup.
"World Cups carry their own unique pressure, I think there's nothing quite like it. I mean, there's positives to it as well," she said.
"You get your home crowd every game. You get your family and friends there. You are in your home comforts," she added.
"So, there are certainly some pros to it, but in terms of the added pressure, that's something that you can't really prepare for, I don't think," Lanning noted.
When Australia hosted the Women's T20 World Cup in 2020, Lanning was already a three-time champion in the format, having lifted the trophy twice as captain.
Despite her experience and success, she admitted to still feeling the weight of the nation and its media as she led her side out.
Australia lost the opening game of the tournament to India by 17 runs after being bowled out for 115 when chasing 133 for victory.
Despite the shock loss, the hosts managed to turn their campaign around before defeating India by a comprehensive margin of 85 runs in front of a record-breaking crowd in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"That's what I found in the T20 World Cup," Lanning said.
"We tried our best to be ready for what was to come, but we got to the first game in a week and we weren't ready for what was going to happen. We did adjust to it eventually," she added.
India and Sri Lanka will kickstart the Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 with their opening fixture on September 30.