After two consecutive wins, India suffered a disappointing six-wicket defeat against South Africa in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. As things stand, their upcoming games against Bangladesh and Australia are now must-win affairs. A small slip-up could cost them an early elimination from the competition. Next up, they will play Bangladesh on June 25 in Manchester and ahead of that, former India cricketer Shikha Pandey has raised serious concerns about captain Harmanpreet Kaur.ย
She has identified that Harmanpreetโs scoring rate is an area that could influence the teamโs fortunes in the remaining two league stage games. The veteran has amassed only 72 runs across three matches in the tournament at a strike rate of 109.09. Her batting position has varied, with appearances at Nos. 4, 5 and 6, but it hasnโt worked quite well for her.ย
โHarmanpreet Kaur’s strike rate is a cause for concern for India’s middle order. If a wicket falls early, we have seen Yastika Bhatia walk in, with Jemimah Rodrigues at number four. We might see Harman come in to bat at number four and Jemimah drop down to number five,โ Shikha said on JioStar’s Game Plan.
โBut wherever she bats, Harman should stop thinking about the wickets that have fallen and not try to rebuild because we have seen that when Harmanpreet Kaur is on song, she is a completely different player altogether. Once she gets set, we’ll see those straight drives and those shots over deep midwicket. She is excellent against spinners, so if she can just get set, it will be great for India,โ she added.
Veda Krishnamurthy calls for role clarity
Questions around the batting order intensified after Indiaโs outing against South Africa. Yastika, Jemimah and Harmanpreet collectively managed 51 runs from 49 deliveries, while the innings never produced a partnership bigger than 33 runs. Jemimah also moved from No. 3 to No. 5, exchanging positions with Bhatia.
Analysing the move, former India batter Veda Krishnamurthy argued that Jemimah should continue in the top order and benefit from role clarity.
โFor Jemimah, I’d still like to see her bat at number three. Just give her one role because it makes it a lot easier to prepare that way. The minute you say, ‘Be flexible,’ you don’t know whether to be ready from the first ball or from the third over. It kind of gets difficult for a batter,โ Veda said.ย
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