BBC India analysed India’s chances at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and I made an appearance.
We discussed how the biggest challenge for the Indian women’s cricket team this World Cup was to just get out of their half of the draw, with Australia and South Africa being their biggest competition.
I was also not convinced that India were clear about their best batting line-up, with Nos. 3 to 5 especially unsettled. That was a lesson from the unsuccesful campaign of 2024 that they don’t seem to have learnt.
And the bowling — the Indian management may say they are adopting a ‘horses for courses’ policy, but to me it looks unsettled, with roles unclear and a sense of desperation around their sixth bowler.
This didn’t make it to the final edit, but I also mentioned how this would be an important tournament for captain Harmanpreet Kaur. She made a statement of intent after the 50-over World Cup 2025 win, that India should make a habit of winning. While India did beat an Australia in transition in Australia, their performances since then haven’t quite matched that stated intention. Conversations about setting accountability and succession planning will, and should, come up.
I haven’t done interviews in Hindi before, so this needed me to really step outside my comfort zone and really try hard to remember my Hindi numbers!