India’s hopes of winning the Women’s T20 World Cup would depend on openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma finding form soon, according to former captain Diana Edulji.
Following a 1-2 T20I series loss to the event hosts, England, India enters the global showcase, which is set to take place from June 12 to July 5. Both Mandhana (40 runs) and Verma (35) are going through a rough period with the bat.
“Though it was not a very good series, we have lost 2-1, we need to just focus on our opening partnership,” Edulji was quoted as saying by PTI Videos.
“Smriti and Shafali need to get quickly into form, and once they start getting into form, I think that will help India win (at the T20 World Cup),” she added.
Edulji emphasized that T20 cricket frequently creates surprises due to its erratic character, ruling out the idea of a difficult draw for India, who are grouped in Group 1 alongside six-time winner Australia and even South Africa.
“All the teams that are coming for the World Cup are going to be strong. You may be in any group. You have to play well on that day, and T20 is a format that, on that day (the one) who plays well — you may be the strongest or the weakest team — but the weakest team can also play well on that day and beat the strongest team,” she said.
Edulji also supported the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team to maintain India’s success on the international scene and build on the momentum created by last year’s historic ODI World Cup victory.
“It is required (for the team) to continue winning World Cups as the men have done, and you (can) see how the World Cup victory in November (2025) has changed women’s cricket completely in this country,” she added.
Edulji acknowledged that the format is unexpected, but he said that even a small error might change the outcome of a game.
“Yes, though T20 is a little difficult because on that day you could be the best team in the world, but if you have one or two bad overs while batting or while bowling, it can change the complexion of the game.”
Edulji thinks the match is unlikely to be as close as the buzz surrounding it suggests, even if India’s campaign against bitter rivals Pakistan starts on June 14.
“I don’t think, in women’s cricket, Pakistan has any chance against us. Though there is hype for the match as usual, but I think we are far, far better. We have never lost to them except one game in so many years we have been playing, and I think we will win easily,” she said.
Edulji called the July 10 one-off Test match against England at Lord’s, which will be the first women’s red-ball encounter at the storied venue, a historic occasion for women’s cricket.
For Edulji, who was turned away from the Lord’s Pavilion during India’s 1986 tour due to restrictions on women at the time, the event also has particular meaning.
“It is going to be a historic day for the Indian women as well as for women’s cricket. Playing at Lord’s – though we have played at Lord’s and the 2017 World Cup final was (also) played there – it is the best ground in the world, it is the Mecca of cricket.”
“It’s a good thing and I hope the girls make full use of those four or five days that they are going to play there and come back victorious,” Edulji said.
