New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) While the frenzy around IPL 2026 has caught everyone’s attention in India, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team quietly kickstarted their preparations in Durban for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, set to begin on April 17.
This series serves as a vital dress rehearsal for India ahead of the tenth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in England from June 12 to July 5. Though India has a bilateral series against England before the mega event begins, the stakes are particularly high given that South Africa are placed in their group for the mega event.
India enters the series with momentum in the shortest format. Despite losing the one-off Test and ODI series on their multi-format tour of Australia, Harmanpreet & Co had something to cheer about by winning the T20I series 2-1. Former India captain Anjum Chopra spoke exclusively to IANS on the upcoming series, India’s fast-bowling make-up, Shreyanka Patil, no wrist spinner being picked and more. Excerpts: -
Q. How significant is this series for both India and South Africa in the run-up to the T20 WC?
Obviously, it's very good - as many international matches as you get to play, that is of immense quality, and you get that time out in the middle. There is ample gap between international series now, so players get to come back home, refresh, rejuvenate, be engaged in other off-ground activities, and then go back to the field and start again.
That refreshing time for a player is essential. Plus, back-to-back international matches - it's of very high importance before the World Cup, that the Indian team gets a chance to play. In fact, even for South Africa, it's obviously great. But South Africa won't be complaining.
If you reflect back from 2024 onwards, South Africa cricketers like Nadine de Klerk, captain Laura Wolvaardt, and a few others have actually been on the move since October 2024. I don't think they would have spent 30 days on the trot at home, and not playing cricket. They've been pretty much on the move as well.
Q. What are your thoughts on the Indian fast-bowling line-up picked for this series?
See, I don't have any issues with these four going or anybody else being there. Probably, I don't see it as a problem area at all, because these are the best fast bowling resources India has at their disposal. Maybe Sayali Satghare is on the fringes, but she doesn't fit into a T20I team because Kashvee Gautam has done very well.
In fact, if Kashvee wasn't injured prior to the 2025 ODI World Cup, we would have seen her in action earlier also. But I'm pretty happy with this. The only sad part about it is that there is no place for Amanjot Kaur in this team. Whether she's injured or is recovering - I don't know what the real reason is, and nobody has obviously spelt it out on the outside over what the real reason is.
If it's either of these two reasons, then it's absolutely fair if she's injured and is doing rehab. But if she's not in the scheme of things without either of these reasons, then it is probably a question mark and a concern for me.
Q. With Deepti Sharma experiencing a dip in form and Sneh Rana not there, does Shreyanka Patil make a stronger case for a longer run in T20Is?
A. It was always a matter of time before Shreyanka Patil got fit and came back into this India team. One good thing is the clarity is there – that she will, at present, only be a part of the T20I squad.
When she got injured, she missed the 2025 WPL. But once she came back, she had to prove her fitness, which she did. Like she went to the Caribbean Premier League, proved herself there, and came back and played in the RCB setup whey they won WPL this year.
So it's absolutely fine that she's in the T20I setup - she's a good bowler, can bat, and is a good fielder as well. But if you're in Shreyanka Patil's shoes - first and foremost, be an assured cricketer in the first fifteen-member squad and then in the playing eleven of the T20I setup.
Then slowly, and steadily claw your way into an ODI setup, if that's where you want to go - and that is clearly up to the player. Whenever Shreyanka was going to be fit and ready, I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind that she would not be in the playing eleven.
Does India need a wrist-spinner for variety in T20Is? Is it surprising to you that no wrist-spinner has been picked for this tour?
A.To add to that, we had two wrist spinners - Priya Mishra and Prema Rawat - in the standby list for the 50-over World Cup in October 2025. When we wanted to replace Pratika Rawal, who got injured against Bangladesh, we had to call upon Shafali Verma from domestic cricket. Fortunately, she did well and we won the World Cup.
But you're absolutely right in what you are asking. If those cricketers aren't performing well enough, I can understand. But Priya Mishra, when she made her debut against New Zealand in 2024, did reasonably well and before that, she had a good WPL. I don't know where she and others have got lost. The people who are picking squads would know that answer well - they watch all domestic matches and are very hands-on.
If they're not in form, they aren't in form. But it's a very valid discussion point - why can't we have a wrist spinner traveling along with the team and may have a likelihood of getting into the playing eleven, rather than somebody on the sidelines just waiting for an opportunity?
On the variety point - if Shreyanka, Deepti, and Charani are the three spinners, the clarity is there that you won't fall upon another spinner. So you don't need Vaishnavi Sharma in this line-up. But then you won't fall upon Anushka Sharma either. If you're not going in the direction of Bharti Fulmali, you might not go in the direction of Anushka Sharma either and so we come back to that same starting point.
Q. Uma Chetry has retained her place ahead of G Kamalini, who made a return to action last month from a shoulder injury. What do you think went into making that decision?
A. I don't have the complete know-how of Kamalini's fitness levels - and this team was announced after the U23 one-day tournament was over. But for Uma Chetry, it's very good that she's on the tour. That being said, it's a massive opportunity for wicketkeeper-batters around the country to stake a claim.
If Uma Chetry is there simply because you need a second wicketkeeper, then what are the other wicketkeepers around the country doing - including those who can bat as well? Why are they not staking a claim?
Ahead of Richa Ghosh, I don't think anybody will get an opportunity, which is absolutely fair. But you need a very good second wicketkeeper-batter - someone the Indian team can turn to if required.
Yastika Bhatia is injured and still in rehab, and now Kamalini is coming back after injury and she's just a 20-year-old. So why is there no talent coming through in terms of the wicketkeeping and batting skills the Indian team is looking for?
Q. Do Pooja Vastrakar and Yastika Bhatia walk into the T20I team at some point?
A. So, Pooja Vastrakar probably has to answer this question herself, whether she is ready and fit to play as an all-rounder or as a specialist batter or bowler. In the WPL this year, when she was playing for RCB, she was only selected to bat, and not to bowl.
When she played in a couple of games, though she didn't get an opportunity to bat, but she was only there as a batter, not as a bowler. So, if she is not fully fit as an all-rounder, I don't think they will be looking in her direction because obviously, she needs to prove her fitness and worth to be in the team.
In terms of Yastika, yes, I think she is again a very highly eligible cricketer who can walk into an Indian team if she is fully fit and firing at all cylinders as a wicketkeeper-batter. Yes, she can walk into an India fifteen and eleven also, depending upon her form. But yes, her fitness has to come through, which has been a massive concern, sadly. There is always a scope for that, though.
--IANS
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