India have been the most dominant team in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup over the last decade — winning the title thrice in five editions of the T20 format since 2016-17 — but their performances bring forth more concerns than assurances at the moment. India have lost nine of 16 T20Is this year, and their most recent loss — against Australia in the Women’s T20 World Cup — knocked them out of the competition at the group stage itself. Harmanpreet Kaur’s India will look to banish their ordinary run in the shortest format while facing questions over their consistency and form as they take on Thailand in their Women’s T20 Asia Cup Group A opener in Dubai on Sunday.
Following the eight-team Women’s T20 Asia Cup, where India are placed in Group A along with Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan, they will head into next month’s Asian Games in Japan with expectations high to bring more laurels to the country. Having endured a largely disappointing campaign in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet fired in the all-important clash against Australia, but her inconsistency with the bat remained one of the talking points from the campaign in which India struggled against higher-ranked teams. With dependable batter Jemimah Rodrigues sidelined for the Asia Cup and Asian Games, India have added Pratika Rawal to their star-studded squad, but the choice hardly settles the requirement for a middle-order enforcer. Poor fielding was again a major concern the last time India played in the format, as a string of dropped chances near the ropes led to their downfall, and the team management would be desperate to have their bases covered this time around. India will rely on their seasoned all-rounder Deepti Sharma to lead the spin attack once again, with Shree Charani, the highest wicket-taker of the T20 World Cup, Radha Yadav and Prema Rawat sharing the workload.
