Harmanpreet Kaur to Lead India in ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur will captain a strong 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the UAE. The tournament starts on October 3, and India will begin their campaign against New Zealand on October 4, followed by a match against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 6.
Group A Placement
India is placed in Group A along with Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The team reached the semi-finals in the previous edition of the tournament.
Key Players
Harmanpreet Kaur will be assisted by vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, who is expected to open the batting with Shafali Verma. Other top-order options include Dayalan Hemalatha. The batting lineup is further strengthened by Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Richa Ghosh, who is the designated wicketkeeper along with Yastika Bhatia.
Bowling and All-Rounders
The bowling options include Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana, Sajana Sajeevan, and Shreyanka Patil. The team also has a fair share of all-rounders in Harmanpreet, Sajana, Sobhana, and Deepti.
Fitness Concerns
The selection of Yastika Bhatia and Shreyanka Patil is subject to their fitness as both players have been battling injuries over the last couple of months. India will also have three traveling reserves for the event in the UAE.
Previous Performance
In the last T20 World Cup, Australia defeated South Africa by 19 runs to win their sixth title, while India made it to the semifinals, losing to Australia by five runs.
Squad
Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan
Traveling Reserves
Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor
Non-Travelling Reserves
Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra
Doubts Revealed
Harmanpreet Kaur -: Harmanpreet Kaur is a famous Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian women’s cricket team. She is known for her powerful batting and leadership skills.
ICC -: ICC stands for International Cricket Council. It is the global governing body for cricket, which organizes major international tournaments like the World Cup.
T20 -: T20 is a format of cricket where each team plays 20 overs. An over consists of 6 balls bowled by a bowler.
World Cup -: The World Cup is a major international cricket tournament where teams from different countries compete to be the best in the world.
UAE -: UAE stands for the United Arab Emirates, a country in the Middle East. It is known for its modern cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Group A -: Group A is one of the divisions in the tournament where teams are placed to compete against each other. The best teams from each group move to the next stage.
Smriti Mandhana -: Smriti Mandhana is a well-known Indian cricketer who is famous for her batting skills. She is one of the key players in the Indian women’s cricket team.
Shafali Verma -: Shafali Verma is a young and talented Indian cricketer known for her aggressive batting style. She is one of the rising stars in the team.
Jemimah Rodrigues -: Jemimah Rodrigues is an Indian cricketer who is known for her versatile batting and fielding skills. She is an important player in the team.
Deepti Sharma -: Deepti Sharma is an Indian cricketer who is known for her all-round abilities, meaning she can both bat and bowl well.
All-rounders -: All-rounders are cricketers who are good at both batting and bowling. They are very valuable to the team because they can contribute in multiple ways.
Yastika Bhatia -: Yastika Bhatia is a young Indian cricketer who plays as a wicketkeeper and batter. Her participation in the World Cup depends on her fitness.
Shreyanka Patil -: Shreyanka Patil is another young Indian cricketer who is known for her all-round skills. Like Yastika, her participation depends on her fitness.