LISTICLE
Follow UsWorld Cups are some of the most significant milestones in a cricketer’s career. They are not just the stage that can uplift a player’s image and stocks but also offer a chance to put a player in perspective.
The reasons are obvious — when a new World Cup comes up on the cricketing horizon, there are more than just questions about performance and who will win the trophy. There is almost always discussion about how the tournament is crucial for a particular player in the larger scheme of their career.
From that perspective, the Women’s T20 World Cup in UAE, starting October 3, will see coverage of many different stories and their subplots. While some stories are on the verge of greatness, others are new and restless to show their spark on the biggest of stages. Meanwhile, some would love to add more glory to their already glitzy careers.
Let’s have a look at one such sub-plot from each of the 10 teams in this World Cup.
Grace and elegance define Mandhana’s batting. However, the Indian vice-captain is much more to her side than just an opening batter. When skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is in a tight spot, her deputy is now more than eligible to assist her and lead with authority if need be.
This wasn’t the case less than a couple of years ago in the 2023 edition of the T20 World Cup. However, being Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) tournament-winning skipper this year, Mandhana is on a roller-coaster that’s only going up with both her batting and stature.
The timing couldn’t have been better for this, as Harmanpreet would be 37 and nearing 38 at the time of the next T20 World Cup, and Mandhana is almost ready to take the baton from her. This World Cup will tell us more about it.
After retiring from international cricket due to issues with Cricket West Indies and how the game was run in the Caribbean, Dottin, who calls herself ‘The World Boss’, has made a return to the West Indian side at this T20 World Cup.
The all-rounder has had a rough few years in franchise cricket, where injuries and form issues have troubled her. A good performance from her would not only boost the West Indies’ chances at the World Cup but also generate more opportunities for Dottin in the franchise cricket market, which is only growing with the game.
Sana is just 22 and the youngest skipper in this T20 World Cup. If that isn’t a challenge enough, she’s leading a Pakistani side that won’t have the services of former skipper and premium batter Bismah Mahroof for them as she bid adieu to the game.
Moreover, with no stable domestic structure or a T20 league to rely on for talent supply, Pakistan need Sana, the all-rounder, even more than Sana, the skipper. Her batting has come of age, and she scored the most runs against South Africa in the recently concluded T20I series.
However, being a Pakistani skipper (irrespective of men’s or women’s cricket) also comes with a lot of off-the-field pressure, compounded by instances like this. Sana has a lot to do in this World Cup, and the 22-year-old is trodding towards the biggest challenge of her five-year-old international career.
Vlaeminck is one of the rare pacers in women’s cricket who can clock speeds over 120 kmph consistently. Frequent injuries have hindered her career, and that’s why, even after being part of the Australian women’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad, she has played only 18 T20Is for her side.
However, she’s back yet again in the squad and has announced her fitness with superb performances against India A and the White Ferns in the ongoing T20I series.
Its highly probable that the Sri Lanka legend is playing her last World Cup. However, her team has never played better cricket. They recently won the T20 Asia Cup, defeating defending champions India, and Athapaththu was at the centre of the chase. However, it was the young pair of Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari who won it for the Sri Lankans.
Earlier, when these young players weren’t performing consistently, the entire load of winning was on one shoulder. This time, however, it would be interesting to see how skipper Athapaththu plays her cricket along with her team, finally on the rise in the twilight of her career.
Akter rose for Bangladesh in the inaugural Women’s U-19 World Cup in South Africa and hasn’t looked back since then. In a team which finds it tough to win games, she’s one of the rare batters apart from Nigar Sultana, who can consistently play with a strike rate of over 100, although she has only struck at 86.41 in her 21 T20I innings so far.
Moreover, her wily leg-spin, along with Rabeya, will offer Bangladesh so much in the bowling department on spin-friendly tracks of Sharjah.This World Cup is a big milestone in her career, also because Bangladesh are the official host of the tournament. At just 17, she’s already a star to look out for.
Bates’s career is as long as Shorna Akter’s age. That should tell you how ancient she is as a cricketer in a World Cup that has a fair number of teenagers playing. At 37, after a long winding career, Bates’s T20 World Cup journey, which began in the inaugural edition, is finally coming to a close.
The White Ferns’s former skipper isn’t known as a swashbuckling batter, but who knows, a last dance might tempt her to show that she can bat faster than her career strike rate of 109.06. New Zealand would certainly need that in the group of death.
It won’t be wrong to say that the Scotland women’s team is synonymous with the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah. However, the older Kathryn is the more famous cricketer in the world, having appeared in T20 leagues worldwide, including the Women’s Premier League (WPL).
Young Sarah, meanwhile, has become the ace batter for her team, in addition to doing the keeping duties. With an average of almost 30 and a strike rate of 110, Sarah would look to make this World Cup the tournament where her name becomes known across the cricketing world. Scotland cricket would really get a solid boost if that happens.
From being a Javelin world champion in her youth, to being a T20 World Cup final in a home tournament — Brits has had a roller coaster of a life.
Alas, her performances at the top of the order for South Africa have been similar as well, with some really good knocks (like the ones she played against India in India) followed by a poor run of form.
The Proteas would hope that she performs to her potential, which is much more than what her average of 31.47 and strike rate of 106.21 tells you.
Named the England skipper right after the legendary Charlotte Edwards, Knight had a stellar start to her career with a home ODI World Cup win at Lord’s.
However, since 2017, despite having some really top T20I players like Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danny Wyatt, and Sophie Ecclestone in her side, England have fallen short of making the finals of the last two T20 World Cups under Knight. This time, she has even better hitters like Alice Capsey and Maia Bouchier in her side.
More than Knight the batter, this World Cup would be crucial for Knight, the captain.
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