Former India cricketer Anjum Chopra has picked the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side as one of the favourites to win the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. The tournament, scheduled to take place in England, will kick off on June 12 with the Women in Blue in action on June 14 against the Pakistan side.
Speaking 10 days ahead of the start of the tournament, Chopra has stated that the English conditions are not “alien” and they are “one of the favourites” to win their first-ever Women’s T20 title. “English conditions are not alien.
Few of them or most of them have already played there, at least the core of this Indian team,” Chopra told news agency PTI. “For me, India will always remain one of the favourite sides. Obviously, I want them there. Not only in the top four. I want them in the top two and then the top team,” she added.
Why are India picked as one of the favourites?
India have a pretty strong squad for the T20 World Cup. Captain Harmanpreet will be playing in her 10th T20 World Cup, starting with her maiden appearance in the 2009 edition. Then there are the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma in the batting group. Then there are strong bowling options in Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, and Radha Yadav.
Moreover, the Women in Blue will be boosted by the performance of Yastika Bhatia, who made a strong return from injury in the ongoing England series. India will have to manage the batting order with Yastika moving up the order and Jemimah down. Chopra reflected on the same. “It’s very good that she (Yastika) is scoring runs, and she scored in the first T20. Though she missed out on a long innings in the second. But what it also does is that it’s not about just balancing out Jemmy and Harman and Yastika,” she said.
“I think the Indian team will probably need to be a little more open about flexibility in the batting order. I’m not saying that they will not be because right now, it’s just a series against England. But in less than a couple of weeks they will play their first World Cup game. I feel there needs to be a little more adaptability to the flexibility.”
India will look to tackle Australia, England, and New Zealand. Aussies will have a new leader as Alyssa Healy has retired, with Sophie Molineux as the leader. This put the pressure on Australia and gives the others that very good chance for the title.ย
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