Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra predicted Richa Ghosh is likely to be the player who can decide on India’s T20 World Cup hopes as the Women in Blue look for their maiden T20 title. Richa has been a cornerstone to India in recent times and was one of the star performers during India’s ODI World Cup win last year.ย
She gives the much-needed firepower in the finish that India want. Her death-over exploits were very much visible in India’s T20 World Cup opener when she came into the death overs and slammed 34 from 17 balls to power India to 170/6. The wicketkeeper batter also smashed a blistering 68 from 36 balls during the warm-up fixture against England women, although India had lost that game.ย
Speaking to JioStar, Aakash emphasised the importance of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma at the top, but insisted that it could be Richa who will decide whether India will win the T20 World Cup or not. “Richa Ghosh is a phenomenal batter. She uses her bottom hand exceptionally well,” Chopra said on JioStar.ย
“She also got a slight advantage in the last game when, in the final two overs, only three fielders were allowed outside the circle. And Richa is one of the very few players who can easily hit sixes of around 70-75 metres. So, I feel Smriti and Shafali can take care of the Powerplay more or less, but the difference between winning and losing for India, between India lifting the trophy or not, could well be Richa Ghosh,” he added.
India up against Netherlands for their second game
India would be facing the Netherlands in their second match of the tournament at Headingley, Leeds, in what would be their maiden T20I outing against the Dutch side. Chopra felt that the teams would have done their homework coming into this game. “The two teams haven’t faced each other before, but they may have watched videos of each other and done a bit of analysis.ย
“The Leeds ground has now become a very good batting surface. So, the likes of captain Harmanpreet, Smriti, and Richa, who looked in good touch in the previous game, along with the other batters, will enjoy batting in these conditions. I feel the Netherlands will be under a bit more pressure, having lost their first game against Bangladesh, while India breezed past Pakistan,” he said.
Would India make any change?
India opted to go with Bharti Fulmali in their opener and dropped Yastika Bhatia, who was mostly decent in her time at No.3 in the recent T20I assignments. They also went without seamer Renuka Singh Thakur as Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy shouldered the fast-bowling duties. Chopra hinted that Renuka could come in for the Leeds game, but the team would not want to tinker much with the combination.ย
“Ideally, you want to stay with the team you began with for a while. Unless, of course, you get to Leeds and there’s grass and moisture, then you might think about Renuka Singh Thakur. Otherwise, I wouldn’t make any changes or touch anyone. Yes, Bharti Fulmali got out early, so what? You have to back the players a little so that by the time you get to games against South Africa or Australia, the players you have invested in are in good form and have that confidence,” he added.
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