Former Australian captain Lisa Sthalekar believes that India possesses the all-round depth needed to finally capture an elusive International Cricket Council (ICC) title in the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. Sthalekar, who has been a vocal supporter of the development of women’s cricket, shared her thoughts on India’s chances.
Reflecting on the competition ahead, Sthalekar said, “I can see Australia in the semifinals as they are aiming to win their fourth (title) in a row. England too had a strong pre-tournament build-up. India’s chances are also very high, and I expect them to be in the semifinals, if not in the finals.”
Sthalekar backed her prediction by pointing to the depth India has throughout their lineup. “India has got power, depth, decent bowlers, and if their 4-7 number batters can score at a good strike rate, they will be in a good position. They need a good start from the openers,” she said, adding that Jemimah Rodrigues, who performed well in the CPL, will be a key player to watch. “It will be fascinating to see how she performs in the WC.”
India has often struggled against Australia in global tournaments, but Sthalekar believes the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side has the potential to beat them. She cited India’s memorable win in the opening match of the 2020 T20 World Cup, where spinner Poonam Yadav took four wickets and dismantled Australia’s middle-order. “If any top-order Indian batter scores a century or bowlers have a good day, they can take the game away,” said Sthalekar.
In addition to India’s on-field prospects, Sthalekar expressed delight over the ICC’s decision to equalise prize money for men’s and women’s World Cups. “From a prize money perspective, I think it’s really good. But what I am more pleased about than just the winner getting the same prize money as their male counterpart is how much money teams are getting for just participating in the World Cup,” she said.
Sthalekar emphasised that this move would help level the playing field, especially for emerging cricket nations. She said, “Scotland coming in for the first time will earn money, probably more than their national contract. The headline is equal prize money, but when you look a little bit deeper, they would like to have a bigger impact on the game.”
As India gears up for the upcoming T20 World Cup in UAE, they are looking to improve on their performances in previous editions, where they fell short in 2020 as they finished as the runners up. Their campaign begins on October 4, with a group-stage opener against New Zealand, followed by tough matches against Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. With an experienced squad and rising stars like Jemimah Rodrigues and Shafali Verma, India is more determined than ever to clinch the coveted trophy.
India’s World Cup Squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan
Travelling Reserves: Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor
Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra
(Quotes sourced from The Print)