Nasser Hussain: India’s Bowling, Not Batting, Key Concern in Women’s T20 WC

India's bowling combination, not batting, the real concern heading into Women's T20 WC, says Nasser Hussain

New Delhi, June 11

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will have plenty of options to choose from when India face Pakistan in their opening match of the tournament at Edgbaston on June 14. In the absence of seam-bowling all-rounders Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam, the bowling combination's make-up will be India's biggest headache.

Deepti Sharma, Sree Charani, Arundhati Reddy, and Renuka Singh Thakur look like automatic picks, while Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, and Nandni Sharma are also in the mix. "I don't think the issue is with India's batting. I think throughout their tour here, they have batted pretty well.

"But just their formula with the ball, and they can't protect 170 or they are going for 170, 180, and then they are under pressure a little bit. So, I like their fearless batting and batting depth. I like Richa Ghosh as their finisher. So, I think it is more in the field and with the ball. How do they go? Do they use Shafali as their 6th bowler or 5th bowler?

"Who do they give the new ball to? I think they are the issues that are most...Not concerning, but if you are asking me what is happening in team meetings, it is the combination with the ball that they will be thinking about the most," Hussain, the ICC Women's T20 World Cup expert, told IANS in a JioStar Media Day on Thursday.

At the same time, India will lean on a powerful batting line‑up at the Women's T20 World Cup, with captain Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Richa Ghosh all capable of scoring at a healthy rate, though the current ODI World Cup holders are still a bit more dependent on their openers.

"I noticed it straight away. I did the game at Chelmsford, the first game of the T20 series, and straight from ball one, and they lost a couple of early wickets. I think they lost two wickets in the first over, and then usually Jemimah sort of knocks it around, and she came in smashing it, and Yastika came in smashing it.

"So, definitely they are trying to feel it. It is just the way T20 cricket is going. It is just like that. If you have got batting depth, you see in the IPL with the impact player because people now realise they can clear the rope and hit the boundary in the WPL, there are so many boundary hitters now, and I think they are playing," added Hussain.

He also feels Richa, who struck a sensational 68 in the warm-up clash against England in Cardiff to break a run of lean scores, would be central to India's ambitions in defeating Pakistan and getting their campaign off to a flying start. Richa has had a strike rate of 163 in T20Is post the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup, which is the best amongst batters participating in the tournament and making 350 runs in that phase.

"Richa is absolutely vital for India. We saw inside, because Deepti's batting in South Africa just fell away a little bit, it became Richa or nothing. It can't be like that because that puts too much pressure on her. But to have a finisher like her (is immense) - any great T20 side, men or women, have great finishers. You have starters, Smriti Mandhana, or whoever. But you need a finisher that will get you 40 off 20 balls, and Richa is one that can definitely do that," he said.

Hussain further acknowledged that Richa's role comes with inherent risk and inconsistency, but added that the match-winning elements in her batting make her indispensable in the Indian batting line-up. "There'll be periods where it's a really odd role because there'll be periods where she gets out. She came in as a replacement or whatever the other day.

"They retired someone out (Yastika), and she came in. She was out on the first ball, I think. There'll be times when you'll go, 'What is the fuss all about'? She's gone two games where she slogged it up in the air and got out. Then in the third game, you will see exactly what the fuss is all about. I saw it in the 50-over World Cup, the way she came in and thought of Nadine de Klerk as well (in Visakhapatnam).

"Those sorts of cricketers that can come in at the end and finish an innings. As an opposition captain, I'm thinking, right, I'm keeping India down to 150 here, we're going really well, and she comes in and makes it 180-190. Just the momentum as you're walking off that field, you think, 'Hmm, that one inning has gotten above par.' She is brilliant. Her keeping is very good as well. She has a massive, massive future ahead of her. Every side would love to have her on their side," he added.

On the question of Bharti Fulmali, who was brought in to complement Richa's explosiveness lower down the order, but is yet to make an impact or get a sustained run in the playing eleven, Hussain was equally emphatic in his support for her.

"I like Fulmali. She is a proper hitter of a cricket ball. In this format, they are worth it as that's gold dust, and that really is because if you can hit sixes and fours as she does, I don't know if I can get all that. But I say play the extra batter, and that might be the extra two batters. They may play her - who knows? But I like her. She won't let you down. She'll hit sixes and fours at the end there," he said.

Catch all the action from ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, June 12-July 5, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.

— IANS