ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Equipped With Young Guns, India All Set for Women’s World T20

With nothing to lose, one can expect the Indian women’s team to play a fearless brand of cricket.

Updated
Cricket
5 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

From being the cynosure of all eyes a year ago to once again dwelling within the shadows of their highly-famed counterparts, the Indian women’s cricket team has seen it all in the last 15 months. After surprising the cricketing realm with a series of consistent and dominant showings that arose after almost zero expectations, the eves were unable to carry on the momentum that they had gained in the World Cup in England, winning 6 ODI games of the 12 that they have played since.

Though India started with a bang against South Africa, winning the 50-over series 2-1 this year in the Rainbow Nation, they succumbed against higher-ranked sides Australia and England at home and conceded the T20 Asia Cup to Bangladesh. The dismal showings forced Ramesh Powar to take over the reigns ahead of the World T20 in West Indies next week.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

The sternest challenge for the former India player was to get the Indian team accustomed to the absence of their bowling mainstay Jhulan Goswami, who had announced her retirement from the T20I format ahead of the tourney. The lanky pacer had left behind the reigns of the fast-bowling attack to Shikha Pandey, who had taken 8 wickets with an average of 23.25 in the World Cup, and had been instrumental in providing crucial breakthroughs throughout. However, as inconsistency started plaguing the Andhra-born, Powar was forced to look elsewhere.

By selecting Arundhati Reddy in the five T20Is against Sri Lanka, and with 11 T20I-match old Pooja Vastrakar returning to the side after missing out of the Asia Cup due to an ankle injury, the emphasis on youth could not be ignored.

Teenager Jemimah Rodrigues’ rise in international cricket, which has been attributed to her fearlessness, and Radha Yadav’s steady emergence that has given senior pro Ekta Bisht a run for her money indicates the talent pool available in India.

It was up to the Hemlata Kala-led selection committee to go for exuberance over experience for the tournament and it was a risk worth taking.

With nothing to lose, one can expect the Indian women’s team to play a fearless brand of cricket.
Jemimah Rodrigues in action.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/ICC)
Snapshot

India’s Squad

Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Tanya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Anuja Patil, Ekta Bisht, D Hemalatha, Mansi Joshi, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy.

0

After India won the T20I series against Sri Lanka 4-0, the young Indian squad, whose average age is 24, had highlighted the importance of playing to attack, even if an odd defeat came their way. This self-belief and aggression forced the selectors to pick six players who had never played in an ICC event before. By selecting eight cricketers who are not more than 25 years of age and five who have played less than ten international games for India, the selectors are prepping the side for the future, and in that regard, the tournament is of a greater significance.

The team will revolve around Smriti Mandhana, who had a mighty successful stint in England – Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur, who are yet to score anything of significance after the onslaught against Australia last year, and Veda Krishnamurthy.

While the senior pros will be the anchors in the side, the likes of Rodrigues and Taniya Bhatia, the only keeper in the squad, will have the responsibility of taking the target to a competitive one with their big hits in the death overs. The former strikes at almost 138 in the format and made an impact straightaway in her debut series against South Africa, while the latter is coming off a spectacular series against the Lankans and will be riding high on confidence.

With nothing to lose, one can expect the Indian women’s team to play a fearless brand of cricket.
File photo of Harmanpreet Kaur.
(Photo: AP)
ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

All eyes however will be on the spinners, and with India playing all their league games in Guyana where the track keeps slow and low, the role of the tweakers will increase manifold. Bisht, who has taken 10 wickets in her last nine international games – ODIs and T20Is combined – held on to her place but only just, and on conditions that are likely to aid her, the left-arm orthodox bowler would be eager to show how lethal she can be on her day.

However, the spin department will be led not by Bisht but rather by Poonam Yadav, who has made it a habit of bamboozling the rivals with her legbreak googlies. Under the tutelage of the senior spinner, Poonam rose up the ranks and is currently the highest wicket-taker in T20Is for India, with a jaw-dropping average of 13.34.

The likes of Anuja Patil and Deepti Sharma will have to chip in with economical spells as and when needed and it would not be a hyperbole to suggest that the performance of the spinners against teams like New Zealand and Australia, who traditionally struggle against the same, will be key in their progress to the next round.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD
With nothing to lose, one can expect the Indian women’s team to play a fearless brand of cricket.
India will miss the experience of Jhulan Goswami.
(Photo: AP)

In Goswami’s absence, Mansi Joshi, Vastrakar and Reddy will be in-charge of the new ball, but in all probability, they will play a supporting role and will only have to set up the game for the spinners to wreak havoc. It would not be a surprise then to see India field just one seamer – something that Powar has tried repeatedly in the last few games.

However, the greatest test will be how the young guns handle the nerves at the big stage. Skipper Kaur had been forthright in admitting that the inability of the side to handle pressure in the World Cup final last year led to the heart-wrenching 9-run loss to England, and Powar, keeping that in mind, worked on this aspect as well.

“We tried to put them under pressure during power play and when chasing. The good thing is the youngsters – they are fearless. I don’t feel them succumbing under pressure,” the coach, who took over the role after the players had revolted against his predecessor Tushar Arothe, stated before the side departed for the Caribbean.

With nothing to lose, one can expect the side to play a fearless brand of cricket, which is exactly how they had risen to take centre stage in the very first place.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

(Sarah Waris is a postgraduate in English Literature has taken on the tough task of limiting the mystic world of cricket to a few hundred words. She spends her hours gorging on food and blabbering nineteen to the dozen while awaiting the next Indian sporting triumph.)

(This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from sports and cricket

Published: 
Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×