T20 World Cup: Former India captain Mithali Raj on Friday said the unavailability of off-spin bowling all-rounder Shreyanka Patil is a ‘setback’ for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side and that the team management may have to turn to Radha Yadav to fill the void in the bowling combination ahead of a crucial Group A clash against South Africa in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup.Shreyanka made a return to the India T20I set-up after a long injury layoff due to shin splints and thumb fracture and was named in the T20 World Cup squad. But after twisting her right ankle while fielding off her own bowling against Netherlands at Headingley, Shreyanka was ruled out of the tournament, with leg-spin bowling all-rounder Prema Rawat called as her replacement.
“Well, it definitely will be a setback because keeping her in mind, I am sure the support staff did have the strategies and tactical plans in place for this World Cup. She, as an individual player also, looked so forward to the World Cup.
“She was coming from an injury, where she was in for a year and so on. It is tough for any player to get injured and then miss out on a global stage like a World Cup. It is tough for her, I am sure,” Mithali, an ICC Women’s T20 World Cup expert, told IANS on a JioStar Media Day.
The absence of Shreyanka also means that India, who are already without seam-bowling all-rounders Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam due to back and knee injuries respectively, will be without a vital bowler who can challenge left-handed batters and be impactful in the death overs.
Mithali, regarded as one of India’s finest batters, feels that Radha, the left-arm spin bowling all-rounder, is best placed to step into the third spinner’s role and partner with left-arm spinner N Sree Charani and off-spin bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma.
“As far as the Indian team is concerned, I am sure now they perhaps have to go back to plan B or plan C. They do have Radha Yadav in the ranks and maybe they will call for a replacement (Prema Rawat). So, either way, I think they will definitely have someone step into that role.
“India’s strength has been spinners and Radha Yadav has done decently well in the ODI World Cup and she is part of this squad. So, immediate change, what I see is that if they need a third spinner, she is someone who would step into Shreyanka’s role,” she added.
Mithali also flagged concerns over India’s middle-order batting, saying the team has been losing wickets in clusters, which has piled pressure on the batters coming in, including wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh.
Against Pakistan, India had Bharti Fulmali at number five, but lasted three balls before falling for a duck. In the clash against Netherlands, India brought in Yastika Bhatia, who made just three. With tough opponents like South Africa and Australia coming up, the number five batter’s choice is also a major concern.
“See, when we talk about our batting unit, especially the middle order, I think we are losing a couple of wickets in a span of a word or two. That is where the pressure is a lot more on the incoming batters, whether we speak about Shefali and Jemimah getting out against Pakistan or Jemimah and Yastika (being dismissed quickly against Netherlands).
“So, there is no partnership there which we expect like say from number three, four or five batter. That is where we feel when Richa comes, she has a lot to do. She has to set the momentum and also take it forward, and take it higher. It can happen, she has done it most of the time and we would want her to do it in important games.
“But we also expect that our top 3-4 batters, apart from the opening batters, need to get some partnerships in the middle. Even if they have about a 30 runs partnership, I think that will help greatly for the launch of Richa Ghosh to come in 15th over or 14th over where she takes about two overs, as that gives her a better platform to play the role that she has been playing,” she explained.
On whether there’s a case for senior pacer Renuka Singh Thakur to be included in India’s remaining league stage fixtures, Mithali felt her omission from the opening match against Pakistan suggested the team management may have reservations over her current form.
“In terms of Renuka, if India has not gone with her against Pakistan, I am not sure if she is actually in good rhythm. If in the first game of the World Cup, you opt for Kranti and Arundhati and not for an experienced Renuka Thakur, so clearly, she might not be in the rhythm that the support staff feels for this World Cup,” she said.
However, Mithali added there was nothing wrong with India opting for a three-seamer attack depending on conditions, citing the pitch used for the Australia-Bangladesh fixture in Leeds as an example.
“Having said that, there is no harm in going with three seamers too. We have always gone with a lot more spinners and it depends on the strip that they are playing. If it is like Leeds, the first game where Australia and Bangladesh played, it was quite green. It was a fresh wicket because I did the pitch report and there was a lot of bounce in that.
“So in a condition like that, there is no harm in going with three seamers. As long as your seamers are in good rhythm, that is the most important thing. Whichever combination of bowlers you pick, you need to know that the bowlers are in that zone of executing the plans that they have been told to do.
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Article Source: IANS