The upcoming edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup is just around the corner. With just a month to go for the marquee event, let’s take a look at the Indian women’s Squad.
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The Indian eves, who announced their squad on Dec. 28th, is set to open their campaign with a blockbuster clash. The showpiece ICC event, being held in South Africa, will get underway on February 10th, with the final slated to be held on Feb. 26th. Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Feb 12th.
India have been grouped along with Pakistan, Ireland, 2009 winners England and 2016 champions West Indies. Let’s do a SWOT analysis of the Indian team.
The Indian team will be led under the experienced Harmanpreet Kaur with Smriti Mandhana serving as her deputy. The Indian team head into the tournament with their work cut out. In the previous edition India reached the final but lost the title to Australia.
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Following Indian Women’s squad announcement, a major takeaway was the inclusion of Shikha Pandey in the squad. The fast-bowling all-rounder, who had been sidelined for more than a year, was shockingly named in the squad. Shikha last played for the Women in Blue in October 2021. What her inclusion brought to the front was India’s lack in the pace bowling department. But it shows that the Indian team enters the competition rich with experience.
One of the key strengths for the side is their batting line-up. With the likes of Shafali Verma and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana at the top, India have an enviable top order, with captain Harmanpreet, Jemimah Rodrigues and Harleen Deol giving India the depth in batting. Furthermore, Harleen and Devika Vaidya’s rich form is another strong point of the Indian side.
Coming to Pandey’s addition, the experience of having delivered in ICC events will be a big tick for India.
Meanwhile, Renuka Singh has enjoyed a strong run last year. While that is a big positive, the over dependency on Renuka will be a cause for worry for the Women in Blue. Bowling can be the area for concern. Death bowling is another area of concern which the women’s side will need to focus on.
But with a strong side at their disposal, the Indian team definitely has the potential to go all the way and lift the ICC trophy. Though this is a big opportunity, their failure to cross the final hurdle poses a big threat, one which the team must consciously overcome. Furthermore, the Indian side will be wary of injuries, being overtly dependent on their playing XI.
Indian Women’s Squad for the T20 World Cup 2023:
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt.), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Valdya, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Anjali Sarvani, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey
Reserves: Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh.
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