The women’s T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to begin in the UAE and Harmanpreet Kaur’s Team India will play their first match in the competition against New Zealand on October 4. The biggest question that lies ahead of the skipper and the team management is, what combination should be picked in the playing XI.
India Need Six Bowlers in T20 World Cup
Former India captain Anjum Chopra and broadcaster tried fixing the jigsaw puzzle for the team. In an exclusive chat with InsideSport, she also raised the point, that they should be looking to play six bowlers in the team rather than five.
“I would be tempted to squeeze in S Asha in the Indian playing XI for the T20 World Cup. Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil will probably be preferred. The seamers will be Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Singh Thakur. Whether Radha Yadav or Asha will get a look in, that’ll be interesting to see. Ideally, Asha should be there and she would offer that different kind of balance to the line up.
S Asha Must in Team India
Anjum added that India should think a little out-of-the-box, and even try out three different kind of spinners in their XI. “If Shreyanka doesn’t fit in, then we can have an offie (Deepti), left-armer (Radha), and a leggie (Asha). I think, India should be looking to go with six bowling options and not five. They have been playing with five-bowler combination; it barely worked against the South Africans and it didn’t work very well in Sri Lanka. So keeping that option in mind, India should decide their rest of the XI.
Harmanpreet Kaur Needs to Bat at No.3
Not just that, the veteran also suggested that captain Harmanpreet should also bat higher than her usual position. “So, that way you have Shafali Verma, in the company of Smriti Mandhana. You should also have that option ready of opening with Richa Ghosh or Jemimah Rodrigues, in case there is a form or an injury issue. Then Harmanpreet Kaur, she should definitely walk-in at No. 3, instead of No. 4 in the T20 format. That gives a chance to Pooja and Deepti to bat a notch higher,” she said.
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