12 June,2026 09:17 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
India players celebrate a wicket during the third T20I against England in Taunton last week. Pics/BCCI, AFP
Strengths: Since the last Women's T20 World Cup in 2024, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma's opening partnership has yielded 762 runs at a strike-rate of 150, which is higher than any other pair in women's T20Is. Their aggression in the Powerplay eases things for the middle order too. In the spin department too, Team India have quality. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani, who made her debut against England last year and picked up 10 wickets to win the Player of the Series award, should lead the spin brigade even as Deepti Sharma is the all-time leading wicket-taker in women's T20Is with 161 scalps.
Weaknesses: India's pace bowling department will sorely miss the services of Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam, out due to back and knee injuries, respectively. Renuka Singh Thakur was not part of India's 1-2 series defeat to England recently, while the young Kranti Goud, 22, does not have enough experience to exploit the pace-friendly conditions in England. Her economy of 8.36 in 11 T20Is this far means she could end up leaking too many runs upfront.
Opportunities: Chandigarh pacer Nandini Sharma did brilliantly at the Women's Premier League earlier this year, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps for Delhi Capitals. She's just three T20Is old, but could emerge as the star of the show if she can carry her EPL form into this tournament. Bharti Fulmali could also step in and make the finisher's role hers, going by her 40-ball 56 not out (6x4s, 1x6) that saw India beat West Indies by 26 runs in a World Cup warm-up match recently.
Threats: Team India have three main threats, the first being its inconsistent results over a period of time. Secondly, the team combination is a worry given that Yastika Bhatia returns to the middle-order, in the No. 3 slot which was previously held by Jemimah Rodrigues. Also, big-hitter Richa Ghosh has been ineffective while Fulmali has just come in. Finally, the draw seems India's biggest threat, considering they are in a six-team group, comprising two powerhouses, Australia and South Africa, from where only two teams will qualify for the semis. This means Harmanpreet Kaur & Co cannot afford a single slip-up in the league phase.
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No. of Women's T20 World Cup final appearances for India; they lost to Australia in the 2020 final
