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India Women head coach Amol Muzumdar has all but confirmed that Harmanpreet Kaur will bat at the number three spot in the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup 2024 being held in the United Arab Emirates.
After a lot of going back-and-forth, and sticking with Jemimah Rodrigues for the longest time, the Indians have decided that the best way forward will be to ask their skipper to bring herself up the order in the one-drop position.
Harmanpreet, who is known for her aggressive style of batting, will be expected to take the attack to the opposition by coming in so soon in the innings and perhaps even getting to face the new ball if an early wicket falls.
Although it is bound to be a positive move in many ways, in this listicle, we take a look at three reasons why India pushing Harmanpreet to the number three position for the World Cup is also a wrong move:
#1 It will hamper their momentum
One of the biggest reasons why this move may not work out for India is that it may end up hampering their momentum. Harmanpreet is known to start steadily and then go big towards the end, and this may not be the right approach if she finds herself in the middle when the powerplay is going on.
Jemimah Rodrigues, who has batted in that position for quite some time, knows how to accelerate according to the situation, and it is bound to help the team's cause. However, Harmanpreet, who is known to be a naturally aggressive stroke maker, may feel it better to take some time at first, and this will hamper India.
#2 It will weaken the lower middle-order
One of the biggest reasons why Harmanpreet used to bat in the middle order was so that she could offset any upsets caused by the loss of early wickets. Her experience and expertise were needed by the Indians in case of an opposition bowler dominating the proceedings early on.
The skipper was also responsible for helping lower-order batters Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma set themselves up for a big finish. However, her elevation to the number three spot is going to add a bit of pressure to the Indian lower middle order given that it has been marked as a case of concern already.
#3 It might cause rumbling inside the squad
Another major reason why Harmanpreet's elevation to the one-drop position in the World Cup is worrying is that it might cause some dissonance inside the dressing room. This is because after a couple of years of soul-searching and trying out a lot of batters, they have finally fixated upon their skipper who was already well set in the middle order.
Jemimah Rodrigues will perhaps be the most disappointed player given that no one else has done better than her in the number three spot in the recent past. She has amassed 240 runs in the 12 innings that she has played in this spot since the 2023 T20 World Cup.
Dayalan Hemalatha, who has also batted in this position for seven innings since that tournament, has accumulated 139 runs. Both these players will feel rankled that they were passed on for Harmanpreet. Differences in the dressing room are the last thing India need during the marquee tournament.
