INTERVIEW
Follow UsIndia will definitely head into the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the Middle East as one of the firm favourites. But that has come with its own set of asterisks, they are yet to iron out the wrinkles, starting with who bats at No.3?
Former India women’s head coach Woorkeri Raman, who has seen the team closely transition into becoming a white-ball powerhouse, previews what could be in India’s favour and what could hold them back.
Here's the full interview:
What’s your first impression of the squad that the Indian selectors have picked for the Women’s T20 World Cup?
I think the basic idea [behind selection] would have been to pick a side that would do well in Bangladesh. But a last-minute change [in venue] has perhaps made them wonder if they could have done anything better. You can’t fault the selectors for that, and things happened rather quickly and unexpectedly. Nevertheless, this is a good side.
If you look at the team’s composition, they have a very good batting unit. Of course, if you have to look at some concerns, it has to be the lack of experience in the pace bowling department and maybe a bit of a lack of firepower in the pace bowling department because of injuries, and we haven’t had a lot of options come through in the last two seasons.
Will the change in venue from Bangladesh to UAE hamper India’s preparation and plans?
I think it will require a bit of a change in mindset and tweaking of plans. What they planned to do in Bangladesh would have to be shelved now, to a certain extent, not completely. They have to try and work out plans that will be suitable for the conditions in Dubai and Sharjah.
The burning question in the national setup right now is, who makes it at No.3, who would you want to see, and why?
What they did well was give a string of chances to Hemalatha [Dayalan] at No.3 because of the injury to Yastika Bhatia. I wouldn’t look beyond Yastika for a simple reason: she’s a fantastic team player, and she did really well in the 50-over World Cup with whatever role was assigned to her.
She is versatile. She was sent at the top of the order, at No.3 and sent to get runs quickly. Without a doubt, she adapted to her role very well. I think she will perhaps be ideally suited for that No.3 role for a couple of reasons: she is a good player of pace bowling and plays horizontal bat shots well, which is important if you are a No.3 batter.
Also, the fact that she’s a left-hander at the top of the order helps, too. You do have Smriti Mandhana; in the event that her wicket falls and the team wants to maintain a left-right combination, you would have Yastika filling that void.
Now, Jemimah Rodrigues has been pushed to No.5 as a finisher, what do you make of this move? She only got that role recently in the Asia Cup!
Jemimah Rodrigues played at No.5 on occasions previously as well. She [Jemimah] will fit into that role well for the simple reason she works the ball around well against spin when the field is spread out. She is a good runner between the wickets and she has the capability of playing explosive shots once she settles in.
When she goes at No.3, batting in the powerplay, if she doesn’t find the gaps, she can get irritated at times and can go for big shots prematurely and get out. I have seen that happen. No.5 slot is well suited for her; she will have the opportunities to bat with Harmanpreet Kaur, who is a good sprinter, and perhaps with Deepti and Richa, with whom she gels well.
So, in that context, she will be an ideal fit. I was looking at that (slotting Jemi at no.5) during my stint with the national team as well. Her versatility will obviously make the team management stick with her at no.5.
You have seen Richa Ghosh develop, is she at the peak of her powers right now in the shortest format?
Oh, she’s [Richa] just starting, her talent is so much that it looks like she has reached the pinnacle of her talent. There’s a lot more in that tank. What has happened is that she has developed really quickly and embraced international cricket without too many problems.
Her temperament has always been her forte, in the sense that she didn’t do anything different because she’s playing for India. She is gone about doing things in her own way. That’s perhaps the way she has succeeded as well as she has done in the short span of time so early in her career.
Could you talk about Harmanpreet Kaur’s captaincy style and how she led in the Asia Cup?
I won’t be specific about Harmanpreet’s captaincy. I will split Harmanpreet into a captain and a batter. As a batter, she’s always aggressive if she sticks to that unilateral mode being aggressive. But as a captain temperamentally, she has to resort to being in different modes. Because that’s very critical for a captain because a captain can’t be temperamentally in the same mode all the time.
There will be many variables and surprises sprung by her teammates and opponents, so you have to be very flexible. You have to quickly adapt and change the way you look at things. The way you communicate will require a lot of flexibility and thinking on her feet, and I think that is something she has developed over time.
When she started, whatever I saw of her during the early days of my tenure when she was the captain, she was perhaps on a single mode, but I think she’s picked up along the way, and of course, but then what is unfortunately discussed more about Harmanpreet Kaur is about a couple of peccadillos here and there. Overall, she’s been the driving force of the team and has everyone believing that India can take on anyone; that’s what people need to focus on rather than the demeanour.
Earlier, you called India’s bowling unit ‘lacking firepower’. Do you think all hopes lie on Renuka Singh Thakur’s shoulders?
If you look at our options, Pooja Vastrakar has come a long way over the last year or so. She has also performed extraordinarily well as a bowler across formats, even in Test cricket, which has given the team a lot of flexibility. Arundhati Reddy has resurged after a bit of a lull, and her resurgence augurs well for the Indian side; she’s a good athlete.
That’s why the team management has chosen her. The fact remains that India need a little bit more experience. You need people who have been playing for a while in international cricket, especially in a World Cup. That’s where the experience is lacking. If Arundhati can make up for the lack of experience and continuity in the last 2-3 years, she will deliver the goods.
Renuka Thakur can trouble the best of batters if she gets her rhythm going and gets the ball to swing. That’s something that has not happened in the recent past. She’s bowled well and has made the ball swing, but she hasn’t picked up as many wickets as she used to when she burst out in international cricket.
That’s the beauty of international cricket: when you are just bursting into the scene, you go unnoticed, but once you start creating waves, they analyse you a lot more and try to find ways and means to counter you. That’s the phase where Renuka is at the moment.
Over the last year, Deepti has evolved so much that she’s currently one of the best all-rounders out there in the shortest format, what do you make of this evolution?
She’s [Deepti Sharma] an important cog in the Indian team’s wheel. I’m going to make this statement again: I would like to see you contribute more with the bat because you are capable of delivering much more than you have. You might think that I’m pushy here, but such is your talent and experience that I would like to see you get a lot more runs than you have so far. And also a lot quicker.
I can’t quite figure out why she can’t realise her own strengths and talents. She perhaps thinks that she is a lesser than what she is, maybe that’s why she doesn’t back her and go smash the ball. If she starts doing that, she’s going to cause a lot of headaches to the opposition.
After a long time, India have a wrist spinner in Asha Sobhana, do you think she could be the X-factor in the bowling unit?
Asha Sobhana is a quality bowler. She’s very good, she might not have had much experience at the international level as one would expect to be part of the World Cup squad. In terms of playing cricket, she’s had a lot of experience, she’s been around for a while and played a lot of cricket at the domestic level. She’s got all the tools as a leg spinner, and she’s a confident bowler too.
What she needs to be very sure about is the kind of line she would want to bowl in international cricket, WPL is fine, where a lot of things can happen, but international cricket is very different. You will not be assured of a place in the side, you have to perform every match and demand a place in the XI. At the start of the season in WPL, you will be assured of a place in the first few games, but international cricket is different.
She obviously will be told a lot of things but has to stick to the basics, which is flighting the ball and getting it to rip and challenge the batters. She’s got to be the wicket-taking option that leg spinners got to be, and I don’t see any reason why she can’t succeed if she sticks to the basics and follows her plan. She will be critical. If she hears everything told to her and doesn’t stick to her plans, the results might be different.
Also, India’s situation with the left-arm spin too has been touch-and-go, do you see a clear favourite?
We have had many options as far as left-arm spin is concerned: Rajeshwari Gaykwad. Now, there are both Radha Yadav and Saika Ishaque. However, people have to understand what makes Radha tick. She [Radha] does tend to get a bit bored easily, so people need to try and keep her interested, keep her going, and keep her active all the time. She’s the kind of person who gets bored easily.
There’s no doubt that she can be a match-winner, I have absolutely no doubt she’s got enormous potential. She made her debut when she was very young. She was also playing sporadically, she didn’t get the opportunity to pick her craft as when someone plays regularly. She’s come along nicely. She’s made a couple of changes to her bowling action as well; it is a case of people understanding her and telling things in a way that she gets inspired. In a manner which stokes the embers in her belly.
That’s how I would get the best out of her; mind you, I’m not telling others what they should do, I’m just telling you about Radha Yadav here. She’s extraordinarily talented.
From the outside, how much do you think the WPL has helped in shaping these players to be aligned with the modern-day game?
WPL has obviously rewired them in terms of their thought process and approach to the game. There used to be a time in Indian cricket when, even in T20 cricket, it was all about preserving wickets. It is just that the fear of losing wickets and getting told off was obviously deterring them from playing aggressively, which is what modern-day cricket is all about. With the inception of WPL and getting to play more T20 formats with bilateral series, gradually, the players have understood that they have to try and up the ante and try and be more aggressive.
That stems from the thought process and not anything else, but as long as the thought processes are not in sync with modern-day demands, no talent is going to help. That’s what the girls have realised, and we have seen some fantastic cricket over time. These girls are going to rule the roost in the years to come.
Would it be fair to say that anything apart from the trophy could be a disappointing campaign?
Let me put it this way: for the ability that they have displayed and for the talent that they have on an individual level, it won’t be an exaggeration to hope that they will win the T20 World Cup.
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