Biswajit Jha

Though Indian women cricket team are yet to win a World Cup, it can safely be said that the current one is the best in Asia. Ever since the inception of Asia Cup in 2004, the Indian women’ s team has successfully bagged all of the four titles. In the last edition of the Asia Cup in 2008, the side again came out victorious, creating hope among the millions of cricket fans in the country that the team, led by fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, will recreate the magic of what Kapil’ s devils did almost 26 years ago at Lord’ s.

The team that will take on arch rival Pakistan in an expected thriller of an inaugural match on March 7, have all the attributes required to bring the crown to India.

It’s probably the best ever women’s team to represent India since they played their first match, back in 1976. Apart from winning the four Asia Cups, the team also reached the final of the last World Cup (2005). Though there have been some minor changes in the team in the last few years, the nucleus has remained unaffected. while captain and fast bowler Jhulan Goswami leads the bowling department, her deputy Amita Sharma and Rumeli Dhar provide much-needed support.

The batting mainstay will be former captain Mithali Raj. Mithali is one of the few batters in the women ’s circuit who score runs with enviable consistency. Apart from Mithali, the team will also have Anjum Chopra, a veteran of four World Cups, wicketkeeper-batswoman Sulakshana Naik and all-rounder Rumeli Dhar. Overall, the team is a good blend of youth and experienced players.

But fielding, which has never been our strongpoint, holds the key to the team’s success. As captain Jhulan told Zeenews.com before the team left for Down Under, if the team fields well in the tournament, they have every chance of winning the Cup.

Indian Squad:

Jhulan Goswami (Captain), Age 25: Jhulam Goswami is one of the fastest bowlers in women’s cricket today. Jhulan is the second highest all time wicket-taker for India in ODIs with 105 wickets in 93 matches. Her excellent performance with the ball earned her the ICC Women`s Player of Year in 2007. She is the only Indian woman to win this prestigious award so far. Though she started off purely as a bowler, off-late she has shown some promise with the bat as well. Her all-round performance and astute captaincy will hold the key to India ’s performance in the World Cup.

Amita Sharma (Vice-captain), Age 26: Jhulan’ s new ball partner, Amita Sharma is also her deputy in the team. Though she is short and stocky, she can generate good pace off the wicket and surprise the best of batters with her pace and swing. The second highest wicket-taker of the last World Cup, Sharma has 65 ODI wickets in her kitty with 4/16 being her best show so far.

Anjum Chopra, Age 31: A stylish batswoman, Anjum Chopra is the only batter apart from Mithali Raj, who can easily walk into any team of the world. A top order batswoman, Anjum has scored 2,542 runs in 109 ODIs at an average of 33.89. With a century and 15 half-centuries in her kitty, she has made runs with consistency, which earned her the prestigious Arjuna Award. India ’ s chance of winning the World Cup will depend on her performance with the bat in the event.

Mithali Raj, Age 26: One of the best batswomen in the world, Mithali Raj provides the solidity as well as mobility in the Indian middle-order. The Hyderabadi batter is the kind of cricketer who gets going when the going gets tough. Her Bradmansque average of 46.50 with 2 centuries and 26 half centuries in ODIs make her ‘the wall’ of Indian women’s team. The number of times she pulled the team out of the trouble single-handedly, is amazing. As a captain, she took India to the final of the last World Cup and helped the team clinch the fourth successive Asia cup in 2008. Her consistent show with the bat last year fetched her the Best Indian Woman Cricketer of the Year award recently.

Rumeli Dhar, Age 25: A right-hand middle-order batswoman and a right-arm medium pace bowler, Rumeli provides the all-round option any captain wants to have on her side, especially in the shorter version of the game. Regarded as one of the finest talents in women’s circuit, Rumeli has so far failed to make the most of her potential. This World Cup may provide her the ideal opportunity to match the feat of 1983 men ’s World Cup hero, Mohinder Amarnath.

Thirush Kamini, Age 18: This leg-break bowler from Chennai is the youngest member of the team. Playing at the age of 15, she came into prominence in the 2006 Asia Cup when she bagged the Player of the Tournament award. Though she started as a wicket-keeper-batsman, Kamini soon realized that she could excel in leg-spin. In the 13 ODIs played so far, she has claimed 9 wickets apart from helping her team with her opening batting.

Sulakshana Naik (wicket-keeper), Age 30: Sulakshana Naik is a top notch keeper who adds value as an opening batter in the ODIs. An energetic cricketer, she is expected to provide the team a good start along with Kamini in the World Cup matches.

Gouher Sultana, Age 20: A left-arm spinner with a great loop, Sultana, who is in her early days of cricketing career, has shown great promise so far. In her 11 ODIs for India, this young spinner claimed 9 wickets.

Sravanthi Naidu, Age 22: An excellent fielder, who is yet to make her ODI debut, Naidu provides an ideal option to the captain- she is a handy bat lower down the order apart from her usefulness as a slow left-arm bowler.

Reema Malhotra, Age 28: Reema Malhotra is a decent all-rounder. She is a good middle-order bat apart from being a handy leg-spinner. Though she made her debut in 2003, she has played only 26 ODIs so far, mainly due to the fact that she has been in and out of the side.

Snehal Pradhan, Age 22: A back-up pacer, Pradhan is one of those bowlers who like to keep it tight with an impeccable line and length. Still to cement her place in the team, she has played 5 matches in which she took 5 wickets.

Priyanka Roy, Age 20: Another all-rounder, Roy is a decent top-order bat and a good leg-break bowler. Though she is still to make a mark in international arena in the 10 ODIs she has played for the country, she has the potential to be one of the future stars of women’s cricket in India.

Punam Raut, Age 19: A solid bat, Raut has scored heavily in the first class level to earn her place in the World Cup team. Yet to play for the country, she will be hoping that her debut series proves to be a memorable one for the country.

Harmanpreet Kaur, Age 19: Another debutant, Kaur is a hard-hitting batswoman who has performed well enough in domestic cricket to get an India call early in her career.