After starting with two wins in their home World Cup campaign, India were jolted by twin losses at the hands of South Africa and Australia in two successive matches at Visakhapatnam. While those defeats might not entirely erase the team’s semi-final qualification chances, it has called for a need to look harder into the playing XI combination for the upcoming games.
Former India women’s team coach Tushar Arothe has called for the inclusion of a sixth bowling option in the playing XI. He expressed surprise at the non-selection of Radha Yadav, considering the all round value she brings to the setup.
The 25-year-old has not yet featured in any of the four matches, but has been used as a substitute on the field at different stages in matches. Arothe also felt the lack of consistency from the batters might have prompted the management to prioritise batting over picking the extra bowler in the playing XI.
Radha Yadav has not yet featured in any of the four matches, but has been used as a substitute on the field at different stages in matches. (BCCI Photo)
“They need to find a sixth bowler, honestly speaking, because if you see, the first 5-6 batsmen, there are hardly any utility bowlers in the team. Harman (Harmanpreet Kaur) bowled in one of the matches. She bowled one or two overs, but she needs to bowl in practice. It does not come overnight. I feel they need to find a sixth bowler because if one bowler has an off day, to bowl 8-10 overs from a non-bowler is going to be really difficult,” he warned.
“All the pitches, if you see, we know that Visakhapatnam is a batting paradise. I am surprised why Radha Yadav is not in the team. She’s a package of utility batter, a brilliant fielder, one of the best fielders in the Indian team, and she is sitting out. She can bowl as well, 7-8 overs, 10 overs. Because India’s batters are not consistent, that is the reason I would say they are going with more batting depth rather than bowling,” Arothe told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
Yadav has played 11 ODIs for India, the last of which came against Australia in Delhi last month. She has taken nine wickets in those matches with best figures of 4/69.
Promote Richa to 3
An aspect of India’s batting that has come under the scanner in the initial few matches has been the lack of acceleration on the top order’s part after Smriti Mandhana’s early dismissal. Arothe suggested that the management should consider promoting Richa Ghosh to number three if a wicket fell early on in the innings.
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“If Yastika (Bhatia) would have been there, she would have batted number three, isn’t it? I personally feel that if you want to take a chance and if a wicket goes in the first 5-6 overs, then let Richa Ghosh go at number three and encash those 15 overs. She can play a little longer innings as well. There is no harm in trying,” the coach, who led India to a runners-up finish at the 2017 World Cup, said.
The wicketkeeper-batter played arguably the best innings of her career against South Africa, where her 94 off 77 balls helped the side recover from 102/6 to reach 251 all out in 49.5 overs. Ghosh has been used predominantly at number eight in the batting order, and her 20-ball 35 against Pakistan also helped India get to a match-winning total.
Arothe felt that if Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues could get back among the runs, then India would become a contender for the title.
“If they (Harmanpreet and Jemimah) start scoring runs, I still feel that India is a strong contender for this tournament. My money is on India versus Australia in the finals.”
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The 59-year-old former Baroda cricketer felt that India still had a good chance to qualify for the semifinals, but needed to correct their flaws sooner to stay in contention for that final-four berth.
“We have a good chance to qualify, that is for sure. I don’t know what number, but we have a good chance to qualify. But we need to start thinking about the final XI. The lapses are, what I feel, middle order batting. More clarity on it. Spin utilisation and fielding, and body language. We need to be more sharp and calm,” he concluded.
