Prateek Tanmay
India’s 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup campaign ended in the league phase with a six-wicket loss to Australia at Lord’s on Sunday, but the exit felt less like a shock and more like confirmation . The cracks had been visible for a while.
India never found a clear identity: the batting lacked power, the bowling combinations kept changing, the middle order remained unsettled and the fielding faltered at key moments. While other sides arrived with defined roles and plans, India spent the tournament searching for theirs.
Perhaps the clearest example was India’s ever-changing playing XI. Following the win over Bangladesh, captain Harmanpreet Kaur defended the constant tinkering, saying combinations were determined by opposition match-ups.
“I think when we came here, one thing was very clear in our mind that every game is a different opposition and they have different positives and negatives, and accordingly we have set our playing XI. So we were very open about our playing XI, and we just thought about what is the best combination on that part. We will be well with that,” she said.
Middle-order muddle
Yet that flexibility led to uncertainty.
India shuffled batters between Nos.3, 4 and 5 without anyone settling into a defined role. Jemimah Rodrigues moved across positions through the middle order, scoring only 92 runs in five matches, while Harmanpreet batted between Nos. 4 and 6 before producing her lone standout knock at No.4 — a 27-ball 56 against Australia — after 85 runs in her first four innings.
India’s Harmanpreet Kaur looks on during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match against South Africa. (AP)
The team numbers reflected that struggle. India’s batters between Nos. 3 and 5 scored only 281 runs at a strike rate of 128.31, the ninth-best among the 12 teams. Australia topped the charts with 415 runs at 157.20, England scored 381 at 144.32 and South Africa scored 328 at 134.43. Australia struck 55 fours and England 53, while India managed only 28.
“I think we really have to rethink our strategy or our T20 game. We really need to put our heads around what combination we are going to play,” head coach Amol Muzumdar admitted after the defeat to Australia.
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The lack of stability also exposed India’s biggest batting weakness: the absence of sustained power. Only Deepti Sharma (171.42), Richa Ghosh (153.84) and opener Shafali Verma (151.69) struck at above 150, while Rodrigues (119.48) and Harmanpreet (131.77) struggled to accelerate consistently. India also appeared reluctant to promote Richa often enough to get the best out of her.
Bowling instability
If the batting lacked clarity, the bowling was in even greater flux. India fielded five different pace-bowling combinations in five league games, rotating Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy and Nandani Sharma. The experimentation yielded little as India’s pacers claimed just five wickets.
The inability to strike with the new ball has left them chasing games for a while now. Among the top 10 teams in T20Is since the 2024 World Cup, India’s Powerplay bowling has the worst economy rate (7.8), the highest bowling average (36.8) and the most deliveries per wicket (28), showing an inability to contain runs or take wickets.
Indian pace attack has been toothless at Women’s World Cup 2026. (AP)
The lack of wickets from the pacers at this World Cup meant the burden fell almost entirely on the spinners. Left-arm spinner Sree Charani emerged as India’s player of the tournament with 14 wickets. All-rounder and off-spinner Deepti Sharma, however, could not maintain the momentum after her 5/10 against Pakistan, managing only two wickets in the next four matches. Shreyanka Patil’s injury further weakened India’s attack.
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Overall, India’s bowling was respectable without being exceptional. Their 36 wickets were the fifth-most in the tournament, but the difference lay in how teams like England, Australia and South Africa had more settled attacks sharing the workload.
As Muzumdar said: “Sree Charani has… gone to the number one bowler in the chart… it just speaks volumes about how she has approached international cricket.”
One bowler alone, however, was never going to win a World Cup.
India’s fielding compounded those issues. Eleven dropped catches across five matches repeatedly undermined the bowlers’ efforts, with South Africa in particular punishing the lapses. “I don’t think our bowling or our fielding helped the cause, to be very honest,” Muzumdar admitted.
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The next T20 World Cup is two years away, allowing India to reassess personnel, leadership, roles and the team’s overall blueprint. Asked if he expected Harmanpreet to continue as captain, Muzumdar replied: “It’s up to the selectors to decide the captain. I think, yes. My short and sweet answer would be yes.”
Whatever direction India opt for moving forward, the 2026 campaign never took off — not for lack of experience, but because they never managed a single complete performance against the tournament’s strongest sides when it mattered most.
(With stats inputs from Lalith Kalidas).
