CHENNAI: Harmanpreet Kaur had one of the best years in 2022. A century against West Indies and a fighting knock against New Zealand and Australia in the World Cup, and she bowled her heart out against South Africa in India’s last-ditch effort to secure the semi-final spot.
She even led her side in a historic 3-0 ODI series win against England on their home soil, while scoring an unbeaten century in Canterbury. Her valiant efforts against Australia in the Commonwealth Games won India the silver medal. With the success at individual and team level start of the full-time all-format captaincy couldn’t have started better than that.
However, lately, it feels like a tell from the past when India were going toe to toe against the likes of England and Australia with the captain contributing a large chunk of runs. In the T20I series against England that kicked off the big month of December, Kaur kicked it off with 26 off 21 balls in a massive chase of 197 at Wankhede Stadium. She followed it with a seven-ball nine in the second match where Charlie Dean trapped her in the front. In India’s eventual win of the series, she remained unbeaten for six as the visitor took the series 2-1.
On the same ground in the white ball series against Australia, she managed to add 17 runs in three ODIs as India lost all the games. The change of the setting, from Wankhede to DY Patil Stadium for the T20Is changed India’s fortune in the first T20I, where Kaur was not required to bat in India’s thumping win by nine wickets. However, in the following two fixtures, she could not score in double digits. In the second T20I, it was her beloved sweep shot that brought her wicket, while in the final fixture, she chopped on for six off 12 balls as India lost the series decider by seven wickets in Navi Mumbai.
Captain struggling in the format with the World Cup in nine months, with no future series planned as of now is a serious concern. Not just because the crop of young players coming up need a cushion around them, but the role she plays in the middle order for India. For the longest time, she was virtually the last recognised batter in the lineup in the shortest format and needed to bat with the utmost caution, but time has changed. The likes of Amanjot Kaur and Pooja Vastrakar hold enough firepower to take the team over the line. Richa Ghosh is taking up more responsibilities and India genuinely need their captain to play her role with the bat.
At the beginning of his tenure early in December, it was said that one of the most important jobs for coach Amol Muzumdar would be to provide the players with role clarity, even if they might not fit in the playing XIs. With only two wins in nine white-ball games across three series, the big task awaits for India. For others to find their ground, India need their captain to stand up, more than ever.
Brief scores: India 147/6 in 20 ovs (Richa 34, Smriti 29; Sutherland 2/12, Wareham 2/24) lost to Australia 149/3 in 18.4 ovs (Healy 55, Mooney 52 n.o).