Former captains Diana Edulji and Shantha Rangaswamy feel the Indian women’s cricket team cannot afford to “blow hot and cold” in a major event like the ongoing World Cup and have called for consistency in the batting division. India has two wins and as many losses to their name in the World Cup and after the defeat to England they face the mighty Australians on Saturday. Edulji thinks too many changes are being made to the batting order. Deepti Sharma had three at bats in the first two games before skipper Mithali Raj replaced her in that position against the West Indies and England.
Mithali, who has been the team’s most consistent batter for the past 12 months, has yet to shoot in the tournament, while Harmanpreet is back in shape after a prolonged meager patch that saw her dropped from the bilateral series against New Zealand for the World Cup. . Cup.
Edulji, who last month called for Harmanpreet’s exclusion from the playing eleven, is pleased to have been proven wrong by the senior batter who hit one hundred and fifty out of four in the ICC event so far.
Edulji wants Harmanpreet, who hit on five, and opener Smriti Mandhana to get maximum time in the middle.
“If they (Harman and Smriti) are in form and have mutual confidence, let them play as many overs as possible. They complement each other and run well between the wickets. Opening pair (Smriti and Yastika) is fine if Shafali seems out of form.
“Harmanpreet can hit three if you want a left hand combination, followed by Deepti, and Mithali can check the innings at five if there’s a collapse of the highest order.
“Too many changes are being made at the moment. Let the players know they’re going to bat on this number, say they’re safe on that number. Harman needs to hit higher now that she’s in shape.”
“You can always be flexible in the last 20 overs, like Richa and Pooja promoting, but your top four has to be stable,” Edulji told PTI.
England, who had lost all three games before Wednesday, bundled India for 134 after scoring 317 against the West Indies.
“You can’t blow hot and cold like that,” Edulji added.
Rangaswamy also called for batter consistency, but does not want to change the order for the game against Australia. Last year, India had ended their 26-game winning streak in Australia, though they lost the hard-fought away series 1-2.
“Both Mithali and Deepti have been among the runs before, but they haven’t clicked in the tournament so far. Hopefully these two, especially Mithali, will shoot against Australia as she is the focal point of India’s at bat.
“With Smriti at the top and Harman back in shape, it’s a good sign for India. Our bowlers have done well in the World Cup. They will overcome a big psychological barrier if they can beat Australia,” said Rangaswamy.
“I don’t see any changes in batting order. Mithali has batted out of three for most of her long career. I’m confident she will be back in the points. Harman, number five, is ideal, the team likes her.” don’t risk against the moving ball.
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“When she gets going she’s unstoppable. I’m really happy to see her again between runs. She was dropped from one of the games and that encouraged her. Everyone has a shock at some point in their careers necessary.”
Rangaswamy added that leg spinner Poonam Yadav could face South Africa and Bangladesh, but not Australia, because they “discovered her”.
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