India’s poor catch and captaincy under scanner after T20 World Cup exit

But as the curtain falls on a miserable and confused countryside, the questions become more glaring. Was it just a bad match (loss to New Zealand)? Has India underperformed? Or has Harmanpreet’s leadership reached a plateau? For a long time things were brushed aside but it was the right time for India to strengthen their stature and it is clear that any coddling from now on will only hurt the progress of the Indian women’s team. As was the case in the Asia Cup final defeat to Sri Lanka three months ago, it prompted no real post-mortem, although it did expose the fielding and catching, the general fitness, the running between the wickets and the way Harman’s captaincy and game sense withered under pressure in the tense final phase. of this game.

Question of captaincy

Apart from doing well for her franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) in both editions of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), 35-year-old Harmanpreet has not been consistent in all formats for India since her 171 from 115 balls against Australia. during the 2017 ODI World Cup. She has captained India in T20s since 2016, taking over the ODI and Test roles following the retirement of Mithali Raj in 2021. India has not won a world title under his captaincy, although the coach and support staff were chosen with his consent. She remains one of India’s best hitters and, before the World Cup, had announced that she would be moving to number 3, a problem for some time. But after the opening match loss to New Zealand, she moved to No.4, switching positions with Jemimah Rodrigues. Harman got runs at No. 4, but in the final championship match against Australia, with India needing 14 runs in the final, she pulled out a single on the first ball to expose the lower order, leading to a batting collapse. and defeat.

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

India therefore has two options: either go to honorary captain Smriti Mandhana or someone younger. Although 28-year-old Smriti failed in this World Cup as a striker, she led RCB to the Women’s Premier League title.

Shy start, no intention at bat

Smriti and Shafali Varma came into the World Cup as a dynamic opening duo, but didn’t click at all. Groups of 11 against New Zealand, 18 against Pakistan and 17 against Australia were shown. Shafali couldn’t build on his starts while Smriti was completely off colour. The lack of intent from the top order was glaring, even in the chase against a weak Pakistan. No limits were reached in the power play as it was necessary to reach the target quickly and improve the net run rate. Even Jemimah didn’t get the runs the team sorely needed.

Bad terrain, fitness levels

The World Cup highlighted the fitness of Indian players and their standards on the field. Catch was dropped in every game, there were fielding errors and throws were off target. Fitness level may also have affected mental agility under pressure in big matches. While poor fielding effort allowed the top teams to score 10-15 runs more, their own lack of fitness meant 10-15 runs less 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 resolve this issue.

The team selection after the first setback could have been better. A typical example was that of left-armer Radha Yadav – a rare sure catcher in the team – until the last league match against Australia, that too only as an injury replacement.

In the last 18 months, India has fielded either Richa Ghosh or Yastika Bhatia as their wicketkeeper. Ghosh, who played in all the matches, is an excellent power hitter, but could not deliver with the bat on the slow UAE pitches in any match.

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