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NEW DELHI: Anjum Chopra, the former Indian women’s cricket team captain, believes that Harmanpreet Kaur possesses the necessary skills to dominate a match and should be positioned at No. 3 in the batting order.
With the T20 World Cup approaching, Chopra suggests that India should consider making changes to their team composition. The elegant former batter also expressed concern about the Indian bowling attack’s lack of effectiveness in crucial matches.
According to Chopra, although India has several options for the No.3 spot, captain Kaur should not deny herself the opportunity to play longer innings.
“I’ve always felt that Harman should play at No 3. I’ve told her also. But of course, depending upon the scenario, and, every player’s comfort is (also) there,” Chopra told PTI in an exclusive interview.
“She is one of those players, who can control the game and will have more time, rather than coming in later and then swinging her bat. Why reduce the number of deliveries?,” she said.
Chopra attributed India’s defeat in the Asia Cup final to the absence of significant challenges faced by the team throughout the tournament leading up to the final match.
“Even if they have won this Asia Cup, it would have been like ‘oh, we are a better team’. But because they didn’t, they got a wake-up call and I am hoping it is a wake-up call. Not in a bad way but in a good way,” she said.
“They were not challenged and whenever they were, it was okay, it wasn’t like digging in deep to come out victorious. When Sri Lanka posed a challenge to them, especially after winning against Pakistan (in the semifinal), they were a team on a high.”
“Once (Vishmi) Gunaratne was run out in confusion with (Chamari) Athapaththu and then the second wicket fell, I thought they are missing on the barrel. But for Sri Lanka to bounce out of that situation and win convincingly, that was a high,” she continued.
Chopra highlighted Sri Lanka’s recent progress and emphasized that India needs to make significant improvements as a team to match their level of performance.
“We lost 2-1 to England. We lost 2-1 to Australia. We were challenged by South Africa. When we go to the Asia Cup, there are other teams also challenging us,” she said.
“Sri Lanka didn’t even qualify for the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand because they didn’t have any cricket for two-and-a-half years during Covid. But look where they are now.”
She had a simple question for one and all. Has Harmanpreet and her band improved as a team? The answer is a mixed one.
“Has our team shown that kind of advancement and improvement? Yes, to a certain extent. But are we still plugging in those gaps whereby we are not conceding defeat?,” she questioned.
“The reason why we lost the Asia Cup final (was) because we are still not plugging those gaps,” she said.
“Certain decisions are obviously not favorable. Certain resources that we have at the disposal are not favourable. You have to make do with what you have, which is probably not quite there right now to become world leaders,” she said.
Chopra expressed his apprehension regarding the current state of India’s bowling attack.
“Look, we have Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami (in the men’s team). When we have these bowlers around, we boast of a bowling lineup like no one in this world and this wasn’t achieved overnight,” she said.
“I’m not saying that overnight we will have these kind of quality bowlers in the women’s team as well. We are playing with only five bowlers. Now that one bowler has a bad day, we are challenged,” she said.
Bowling options in India are limited, she accepted.
“Maybe we don’t have the options. Maybe because players are injured, they are not there. Maybe the skill level has dropped for all those players who are injured or whether they’ve dropped off the radar. We do have a good bowling line-up but we don’t have a penetrative bowling line-up,” she said.
Chopra raised concerns about the non-participation of key Indian players in the current series against Australia ‘A’. She pointed out the inclusion of Tahlia McGrath in the Australian team, highlighting the contrast between the two sides.
“We’ve not done well in Australia. India A is playing there. Meghana Singh is playing, who is not considered (for selection) even when she’s around the Indian team. (Then) why is she playing there?” she said.
“Why is Titas Sadhu not a part of this? Why is Sobhana Asha not a part of India A? I thought Jemimah Rodrigues should have been there in this team playing in Australia. Why is she not there?
“(Those who have) just stepped out of the South African series and have not gone for ‘The Hundred’. Tahlia McGrath is leading Australia, why is no current India player a part of that?”
“We need to do a bit of our combination reassessment again and hope that a few players come into this lineup as options. We definitely need all-rounders, more bowling options and we definitely need agile fielders as well,” she said
With the T20 World Cup approaching, Chopra suggests that India should consider making changes to their team composition. The elegant former batter also expressed concern about the Indian bowling attack’s lack of effectiveness in crucial matches.
According to Chopra, although India has several options for the No.3 spot, captain Kaur should not deny herself the opportunity to play longer innings.
“I’ve always felt that Harman should play at No 3. I’ve told her also. But of course, depending upon the scenario, and, every player’s comfort is (also) there,” Chopra told PTI in an exclusive interview.
“She is one of those players, who can control the game and will have more time, rather than coming in later and then swinging her bat. Why reduce the number of deliveries?,” she said.
Chopra attributed India’s defeat in the Asia Cup final to the absence of significant challenges faced by the team throughout the tournament leading up to the final match.
“Even if they have won this Asia Cup, it would have been like ‘oh, we are a better team’. But because they didn’t, they got a wake-up call and I am hoping it is a wake-up call. Not in a bad way but in a good way,” she said.
“They were not challenged and whenever they were, it was okay, it wasn’t like digging in deep to come out victorious. When Sri Lanka posed a challenge to them, especially after winning against Pakistan (in the semifinal), they were a team on a high.”
“Once (Vishmi) Gunaratne was run out in confusion with (Chamari) Athapaththu and then the second wicket fell, I thought they are missing on the barrel. But for Sri Lanka to bounce out of that situation and win convincingly, that was a high,” she continued.
Chopra highlighted Sri Lanka’s recent progress and emphasized that India needs to make significant improvements as a team to match their level of performance.
“We lost 2-1 to England. We lost 2-1 to Australia. We were challenged by South Africa. When we go to the Asia Cup, there are other teams also challenging us,” she said.
“Sri Lanka didn’t even qualify for the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand because they didn’t have any cricket for two-and-a-half years during Covid. But look where they are now.”
She had a simple question for one and all. Has Harmanpreet and her band improved as a team? The answer is a mixed one.
“Has our team shown that kind of advancement and improvement? Yes, to a certain extent. But are we still plugging in those gaps whereby we are not conceding defeat?,” she questioned.
“The reason why we lost the Asia Cup final (was) because we are still not plugging those gaps,” she said.
“Certain decisions are obviously not favorable. Certain resources that we have at the disposal are not favourable. You have to make do with what you have, which is probably not quite there right now to become world leaders,” she said.
Chopra expressed his apprehension regarding the current state of India’s bowling attack.
“Look, we have Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami (in the men’s team). When we have these bowlers around, we boast of a bowling lineup like no one in this world and this wasn’t achieved overnight,” she said.
“I’m not saying that overnight we will have these kind of quality bowlers in the women’s team as well. We are playing with only five bowlers. Now that one bowler has a bad day, we are challenged,” she said.
Bowling options in India are limited, she accepted.
“Maybe we don’t have the options. Maybe because players are injured, they are not there. Maybe the skill level has dropped for all those players who are injured or whether they’ve dropped off the radar. We do have a good bowling line-up but we don’t have a penetrative bowling line-up,” she said.
Chopra raised concerns about the non-participation of key Indian players in the current series against Australia ‘A’. She pointed out the inclusion of Tahlia McGrath in the Australian team, highlighting the contrast between the two sides.
“We’ve not done well in Australia. India A is playing there. Meghana Singh is playing, who is not considered (for selection) even when she’s around the Indian team. (Then) why is she playing there?” she said.
“Why is Titas Sadhu not a part of this? Why is Sobhana Asha not a part of India A? I thought Jemimah Rodrigues should have been there in this team playing in Australia. Why is she not there?
“(Those who have) just stepped out of the South African series and have not gone for ‘The Hundred’. Tahlia McGrath is leading Australia, why is no current India player a part of that?”
“We need to do a bit of our combination reassessment again and hope that a few players come into this lineup as options. We definitely need all-rounders, more bowling options and we definitely need agile fielders as well,” she said
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