Women’s cricket in India will receive a big boost should the national team march to victory in the ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The team led by Harmanpreet Kaur will face the Silver Ferns from New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on October 4.
Considering that India is in the same group as the six-time winner, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, Kaur’s highly talented team will look to make a winning start to immediately enhance its chances of advancing to the semi-finals. The second group consists of one-time winners England and West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Scotland.
The outcome of the first match is unpredictable. That’s because India has not played a single International outing in the UAE, which was chosen as the venue because of the political upheaval in Bangladesh, which was the host nation until the unrest in the country compelled the ICC to relocate the venue.
India has participated in the World Cups of the white-ball format since 1979 and is keen to notch its first title, which has eluded it on three occasions-twice in the 50-over final: first against Australia at the Centurion (South Africa) in 2005 and then against England at Lord’s in 2017.
The second instance was heart-breaking because the margin was only nine runs in a tournament that was set ablaze by Kaur’s spectacular unbeaten 171, which eliminated Australia from the title match. Kaur made 51 in the final, but the home team, England, scored a thrilling win at the Derby County Ground.
The team led by Kaur raised hopes in the Twenty20 World Cup final in Melbourne in March 2020 when about 90,000 people showed up at the venue, but again, a defeat by 85 runs summed up the home team’s dominant display and India’s sorry plight.
India has played in 36 World Cup matches, participating in all eight previous editions in England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, West Indies, Australia, and South Africa. The team has won only twenty matches, which is not a record that it can feel happy about, but with adequate exposure given in the last five years, Kaur’s team may surpass itself.
Earlier this week, Diana Edulji, the former India captain and all-rounder who starred in Test match cricket and is a critic of the national team, said at an event in Mumbai that the team has the talent and experience to win the title in the UAE. “Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana bring a wealth of experience. We looked dicey at No.3 and were struggling, but Yastika Bhatia has been declared fit, which is a boost for the team,” said Diana.
Bhatia has played only three times at No. 3 (out of 19 appearances in Twenty20 internationals), and her highest score in that position was 36 against Bangladesh in Sylhet last March. However, she missed the Asia Cup because of a left knee injury.
India’s highest scorer at No.3 is Jemima Rodrigues, with 1492 runs in 59 innings. Rodrigues has played 100 Twenty20 internationals. It has to be seen if Kaur and head coach Amol Muzumdar will be tempted to make the tactical change in a tournament like the World Cup.
Kaur has played in the previous eight World Cups of the Twenty20 format, and the competition in the UAE could be her last if things go wrong with the bat. Her numbers in the global event are far from satisfactory. She averages 20.57 from 29 innings. Her best was in the 2018 competition when she hit a 51-ball 103 against New Zealand.
A batting lineup with Mandhana, Verma, Bhatia, Kaur, Rodrigues, and Richa Ghosh can go the distance. Their potential to score heavily will make the bowling department in Renuka Singh Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav and Shreyanka Patil very effective.
The selectors tried new faces this year in Kerala all-rounder Sajeevan Sajana and leg-spinner Asha Sobhana and have recalled Dayalan Hemalatha and Arundhati Reddy. The focused training and exposure have prepared the team well. The time has arrived for the players to deliver on the big stage. Since January 2023, India has played 35 matches, won 22, and lost ten. There were three result-less matches.
