Women’s T20 WC: Harmanpreet has been more successful at four or five, says Poonam

New Delhi: Ahead of India’s must-win Group A clash against Pakistan in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, veteran leg-spinner Poonam Yadav said captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been a more successful batter at number four or five, instead of being at number three. In Friday’s campaign opener, where India suffered a heavy 58-run defeat, Harmanpreet could make only 15 runs as a No.3 batter, a move decided before leaving for the UAE, which brought mixed reactions.

In the practice matches against South Africa and the West Indies, Harmanpreet managed to make an 11-ball 10 and one off three balls respectively. Before Friday’s game at the Dubai International Stadium, Harmanpreet had just 18 games at No.3 – the last of which came in February 2023 against Ireland - scoring 298 runs overall at an average of 21.28.

“If we talk experience-wise, then Harmanpreet Kaur has loads of experience. But if she bats at number five, - like if you look at the game against New Zealand in 2018, where she played a knock of 103, it came from that position. So, the more successful position for her has been batting at number four and five, as she’s capable of smashing big hits needed for the team and finishes off the game well.”

“If you remember, there was a game in the WPL, where her team was nowhere in the game, she pulled the game with her big hits (95 not out against Gujarat Giants) and took the match till the end to get a win. So I feel if Harmanpreet bats at number four or five, she will be able to bat with a successful strike rate for the Indian team and make the team win,” said Poonam in response to a query from IANS on a Star Sports Press Room show episode for the ongoing tournament.

Sanjay Bangar, the former India men’s batting coach, had a different take – saying Harmanpreet’s move to No.3 was necessary in the light of others like Sajana Sajeevan, Yastika Bhatia, Dayalan Hemalatha and Uma Chetry being tried there, but not making the spot theirs’.

“My mind goes back to the way the men's team also had stacked up with the number one, two, three, like in Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. All the top guns batting one after the other. So it’s a very similar situation.”

“But the point here is that they've made the decision and it was a very well thought out decision because there was always this debate like taking into account that No.3 position wasn't really the most productive position.”

“Whoever was tried at that particular position, nobody had taken their chances that much. So I think in a way it's a very positive move that maybe Harmanpreet would have had success at number four or five, but that's well in the past.”

“If you pushed your best player at No.3, then let her settle in that role and if she has a cracker of a World Cup, she may just end up being the player of the tournament. So there are two ways of looking at it and I just believe that taking into account her experience, it's better to be batting up rather than batting down,” he elaborated.

India’s build-up to the tournament was rather muted – not playing an international game for nearly two months after becoming runners-up to Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup final in July. In this period, they had various camps at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) focusing on fitness, fielding and skills, as well as played practice games at the Just Cricket Academy in Bengaluru before departing for the UAE.

In that period, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan played bilateral games as part of the preparation for the T20 World Cup. Poonam, who bamboozled Australia with a spell of 4-19 in the 2020 T20 World Cup group stage at Sydney, felt India could have played a series before going for the mega event.

“I believe that by playing in a series or two, you would have worked on your playing skills. But if the team management feels that there is more work needed on fitness and fielding, as well as on some learnings from the Women’s Asia Cup, then what’s why they organised those camps.”

“If you wanted to focus more on skill, with a big tournament on the horizon, then you should have played T20 matches and set your batting order for the competition. Plus, if they wished to have Harmanpreet Kaur or Jemimah at number three, then they could have been given continuous matches – as well as providing them with time and trust so that they could have settled in and dominated well,” she concluded.