India women’s cricket team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur embraced a fresh role as the number three batter for the side in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Making her move up the order, the captain managed to score only 15 runs in the tournament opener against New Zealand. Former India coach Sanjay Bangar and ex-cricketer Poonam Yadav had rather contrasting views on where Kaur should bat.
Where should Harmanpreet Kaur bat?
Answering to a question on Harmanpreet Kaur’s batting position on the Star Sports Press Box show, Bangar backed the Indian skipper to bat up the order. He claimed that there was a striking similarity with the men’s team where the top three batters were stars with big-hitting abilities.
On the other hand, former Indian women’s star Poonam Yadav felt that Harmanpreet should continue batting where she has excelled the most – at the number five position. Yadav also went on to cite captains batting down the order and tasting sucess to justify why Harmanpreet should not bat at number three, while also adding that her six-hitting ability will come of good use to India towards the close of the innings.
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The decision to promote Harmanpreet Kaur up the order was taken just before the start of the T20 World Cup. The decision came to the fore in one of the warm-up games where the batter came out to bat at number three but managed to score only one run. While India face a setback having lost their first game, it is imperative for the batting unit to start firing, given that there are crucial games against Pakistan and Australia that are lined up.