India's lackluster catching, strategic shortcomings spotlighted after T20 World Cup disappointment

Chandigarh: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and head coach Amol Muzumdar both agreed that this Indian team heading to the ICC T20 World Cup is the most balanced one yet. With the recent victory of Rohit Sharma and the men's T20 World Cup team, hopes are high for India to give a strong performance and fight till the end in the upcoming tournament.

But as curtains came down on a miserable, confused campaign, questions are becoming shriller. Was it just about one bad game (loss to New Zealand)? Did India underperform? Or, has Harmanpreet’s leadership plateaued? For long, things have been swept aside but this was the right time for India to up their stature and it’s clear any mollycoddling now will only harm the Indian women team’s progress. Like it did when losing the Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka three months ago elicited no real post mortem though it exposed the fielding and catching, overall fitness, running between the wickets and how Harman’s captaincy and game sense wilted under pressure in the tense last phase of that game.

Captaincy question

Other than doing well for her franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) in the two editions of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the 35-year-old Harmanpreet hasn’t been consistent in all formats for India since her 115-ball 171 versus Australia in the 2017 ODI World Cup. She has captained India in T20s since 2016, taking over the ODI and Test jobs after Mithali Raj retired in 2021. India have not won a global title under her captaincy though the coach and support staff have been chosen with her consent. She remains one of India’s best batters and before the World Cup said she would move up to No.3, a problem area for a while. But after the opening game loss to New Zealand, she moved to No.4, switching positions with Jemimah Rodrigues. Harman did get runs at No.4 but in the do-or-die last league game against Australia, with India needing 14 in the final over, she took a single off the first ball to expose the lower order, leading to a batting collapse and defeat.

Mithali Raj, when asked if it was time for a captaincy change, said in an interview to PTI on Tuesday: “It’s up to BCCI and the selectors to take a call but if they are looking to change this would be the ideal time because if you delay more then we have another World Cup on the horizon (2025 ODI World Cup in India). If you are not doing now, then don’t do it later. Then it is too close to the World Cup.” The former batting stalwart also said Jemimah, only 24 and a good communicator, could be the best option for T20 captaincy.

India thus has two options: Go either to captain-in-waiting Smriti Mandhana or to someone younger. Though Smriti, 28, failed in this World Cup as a batter, she captained RCB to the Women’s Premier League title.

Timid starts, no batting intent

Smriti and Shafali Varma went into the World Cup as a dynamic opening pair, but didn’t click at all. Stands of 11 against NZ, 18 against Pakistan and 17 against Australia showed. Shafali couldn’t build on her starts while Smriti was totally off colour. The top order’s lack of intent was glaring even in the run chase against a weak Pakistan. No boundary was hit in the powerplay when the need was to get to the target quickly and improve the net run rate. Even Jemimah didn’t get the runs the team badly needed.

Poor fielding, fitness levels

The World Cup exposed the fitness of Indian players and their standards on the field. Catches were dropped every game, there were misfields and throws were off target. The fitness levels also perhaps affected mental agility under pressure in the big matches. While the poor effort on the field allowed the better teams to scored 10-15 runs more, their own lack of fitness meant 10-15 fewer runs due to poor running between the wickets. Amol Muzumdar, who has been head coach for 10 months, may have to come up with plans to address this.

Team selection after the early setback could have been better. A case in point was not including left-arm spinner Radha Yadav – a rare safe catcher in the side – until the final league game against Australia, that too only as an injury replacement.

For the last 18 months, India have fielded either Richa Ghosh or Yastika Bhatia as wicket-keeper. Ghosh, who played in all the games, is an excellent power-hitter but could not deliver with the bat on the slow pitches in the UAE in any game.

This Cup could be a wake-up call for the cricket board to act and ensure India can seriously challenge the top three in world cricket and win ICC tournaments. BCCI has laid the ground work with equal pay, providing exposure and launching WPL, but must take decisive steps to improve the national team.