Given their deficiencies across the board, the Indian women’s cricket team may have to rely on individual talent to win an ICC title for the second time in eight months.
Although there were several obstacles along the way to the historic ODI World Cup victory in November, Jemimah Rodrigues shouldered the team and helped them win the coveted trophy. India appeared to have all the bases covered in the shortest format not too long ago, but the T20 showpiece’s evident weaknesses have been revealed by their consecutive series losses in South Africa and England.
Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have recently been lackluster, and the bottom order has also not been playing up to par. Before the team’s opening World Cup match against Pakistan on June 14, Richa Ghosh, the team’s designated power hitter, doesn’t have runs under her belt.
Both with bat and ball, seasoned all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s performance has been lacking.
According to former India captain Shantha Rangaswamy, the ball is more of an issue for India than batting and fielding. Her worries are warranted because England easily defeated India to win the three-match series in the UK by shooting down a competitive target of 181.
The squad’s balance has suffered due to the absence of injured all-rounders Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam. India has historically been a spin-heavy country with limited tempo possibilities.
In the pace attack, Nandini Sharma has shown to be a rare asset, and left-arm spinner Shree Charani has also shown promise. Since her return, off-spinner Shreyanka Patil has performed admirably, but overall, the bowling doesn’t inspire much confidence.
“The team has not done well of late but they continue to have a positive body language. I am backing them to go all the way. Having said that, our bowling is not as good as our batting and fielding. We were always known for a good bowling attack. We can’t say that now,” Shantha told PTI.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the 37-year-old captain of India, will most likely be participating in her final World Cup. If India is to regularly post totals above 180, her contribution in the middle order will be essential.
“I am a fan of Harmanpreet the batter. She remains as fit as ever. However, I always wanted her to focus more on her batting rather than captaincy. If she can find her rhythm, it makes the job much easier for others,” added Shantha.
The lack of runs from Mandhana’s bat at the top of the order raises a lot of concerns because she is typically one of the consistent performers.
Yastika Bhatia has scored runs at number three since her return, but she needs to bat at a higher strike rate and find a way to avoid playing too many dot balls. Shafali also needs to stay one step ahead of the bowlers to excel as an enforcer in the powerplay.
T20 is the most unpredictable format, but India clearly has plenty to improve if they want to contend for the title.
