India’s Women’s T20 World Cup campaign came to an end on Sunday (June 28) after a six-wicket defeat to Australia at Lord’s. Following the loss, head coach Amol Muzumdar admitted that the team needs to rethink its plans for T20 cricket if it wants to compete with the best teams in the world.
India have now failed to reach the semi-finals in back-to-back Women’s T20 World Cups. The last time they made the knockout stage was in 2023, and another early exit has raised questions about the team’s approach in the shortest format.
Muzumdar believes T20 cricket is changing quickly, and India also need to make changes if they want to keep up with teams like Australia, who continue to set the standard in the format.
“I think we really have to rethink our strategy for our T20 game,” the India coach said after the loss to Australia. “We really need to put our heads around what combinations we are going to play.”
The coach feels choosing the right playing combination will be one of India’s biggest tasks before the next major tournament. He believes the team has talented players, but they need to be used in the right roles to get the best results.
Muzumdar was also asked whether experienced captain Harmanpreet Kaur should continue leading the side. He said he believes Harmanpreet should stay as captain, although he made it clear that the final decision rests with the selectors.
When asked what India needs to improve the most in T20 cricket, Muzumdar pointed to the team’s bowling and fielding. He said the batting unit has shown the right attitude throughout the tournament. The batters have tried to play positive cricket, score boundaries and keep the run rate high, which is important in modern T20 cricket. However, he believes the bowling and fielding did not support the batting when it mattered most.
“With the bat, I think we have been batting with a lot of intent,” he said. “We have been positive in our thinking. We have been thinking about fours and sixes. As modern-day cricket is all about, I guess T20 cricket is all about fours and sixes. And so we have been thinking and we have been playing in that fashion for sure.
“It’s just that I think our bowling also needs to up the ante a little bit. I don’t think our bowling or our fielding helped the cause, to be very honest. So, I guess we need to really go back and think how we’re going to approach the T20 game and also be in that positive frame of mind.”
India’s batting produced several good performances during the tournament. Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur all played important innings, but the bowling attack struggled to stop strong batting sides in key matches. The fielding also let the team down, with dropped catches proving costly.
Against South Africa, India missed important chances in the field, which helped the Proteas complete a successful chase. More catches were dropped against Bangladesh, making fielding one of the biggest talking points during India’s campaign.
Muzumdar also reminded everyone that India’s bowling attack is still very young and does not have much experience in international cricket. He pointed out that the world’s No.1 ranked T20I bowler Sree Charani and fast bowler Kranti Gaud are both still under 23 years of age. He believes both players will become much better as they gain more experience at the international level.
The coach also said India missed spinner Shreyanka Patil in the important match against Australia after she suffered an ankle injury earlier in the tournament.
“If you look at our bowling attack, it’s been very inexperienced as far as international cricket is concerned. So, I’ve said this before in the previous press conference that give us 18 months and this attack will be a different one,” he concluded.
Even though India’s World Cup campaign ended in disappointment, Muzumdar remains hopeful about the future. He believes that with more international experience, better planning and continued improvement, India’s young bowling attack can become much stronger over the next 18 months and help the team perform better in future ICC tournaments.
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