As India look to bag their fourth title at the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, beginning in Dubai on Friday (August 28 to September 13), has backed skipper Harmanpreet Kaur as the perfect leader even as there has been some chatter about the need to change the captain after India failed to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in England last month.
First up, Thai test
India begin their campaign against Thailand in Dubai on Sunday.
“I feel Harmanpreet is a perfect leader for this team because she’s a very good blend of aggression and calmness, which reflects in her batting. And I know for sure that reflects in her captaincy as well. If changing a captain can get you World Cup trophies, I will be the first to say, ‘let’s change a captain for every ICC tournament because I want to win that ICC trophy’,” Anjum said during a select media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network on Wednesday.
Under Kaur’s captaincy, India won the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup at Navi Mumbai in 2025.
Anjum Chopra. Pic/AFP
“I believe we should look to preserve Harmanpreet, not because she should be there as captain, but because she walks tall in the dressing room due to her runs as well, and not just because of her decision-making,” Anjum explained.
Anjum, who represented the country in 12 , 127 ODIs and 18 T20Is between 1995 and 2012, felt Kaur’s biggest challenge is a lack of bowling options.
“The bigger challenge for Harman is that she doesn’t have enough bowlers to fall back on. Rather than saying change X or change Y, we should look at how many bowlers she can count on. One is Deepti Sharma [off-spinning all-rounder], second is Shree Charani [left-arm spinner] and third is Kranti Gaud [pacer], who doesn’t play every T20 game. So, she’s actually limited for options in the bowling department. So, you’ll always be looking to make that important change at critical moments when you feel you can’t handle it with any other bowler. But who is that out-and-out fast bowler apart from Kranti who can utilise the new ball?” Anjum asked.
‘India clear favourites’
Though Sri Lanka are defending champs, Anjum believes are strong title contenders. “I feel India will emerge as champions. They will need to play very bad cricket on a particular day to lose. This Indian team is very confident, especially because of their success in the 50-over World Cup. Yes, the T20 World Cup didn’t go to plan, but they’re still one-day champions. But there will always be a challenge. I will never take Pakistan, Sri Lanka or any team lightly. Sri Lanka won this championship in 2024 and were outstanding,” Anjum concluded.