Trust Shafali Verma, the bowler: Nasser Hussain offers ‘safety valve’ to India’s balance problem in Women’s T20 World Cup | Cricket News
It was in England in 2017, the occasion was an ODI World Cup semi-final and the opponents were Meg Lanning’s Australia. Harmanpreet Kaur‘s unbeaten 171 changed the course of women’s cricket and remains one of the most important innings in Indian cricket history.India are in England again, this time for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur is now leading the side, as a World Cup-winning captain after guiding India to their maiden ODI World Cup title last year in Navi Mumbai.The ambition is another trophy, this time at Lord’s on July 5, and India will begin their campaign against Pakistan on Sunday. Alongside Pakistan, it also features Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and the Netherlands. The return of Bharti Fulmali has strengthened India’s batting fire-power. After two appearances in 2019, she spent seven years out of the national team before forcing her way back with strong performances in the WPL. Among Indian batters who scored at least 250 runs across the 2025 and 2026 editions, only Richa Ghosh scored at a faster strike rate than Fulmali’s 159.5.India’s batting depth is not a major concern. The bowling attack also has experience and variety through Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Kranti Goud and Shree Charani. The bigger issue is balance, India must first solve the selection puzzle created by injuries to Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam. The absence of both seam-bowling all-rounders has left India short of balance and forced a debate over whether they should strengthen their batting or add another bowling option.Had either Amanjot or Kashvee been fit, India could have fielded a seam-bowling all-rounder alongside two frontline pacers, while also maintaining depth in both batting and spin. Their absence leaves a gap that is difficult to fill and could force India to choose between strengthening the batting or adding another specialist bowler.Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes India should lean towards batting depth.
Team India cricketers (Pic credit: BCCI)
Speaking on JioStar Media Day, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup expert Nasser Hussain said, “Personally, I would play the extra batter. I would pack my batting. I would use Shafali – remember in the 50-over World Cup final, Shafali came in. She wasn’t even in the original squad, and then there she is, getting runs and wickets. I would use Shafali as my safety valve bowler, as in the women’s game, four of the top six, seven bowlers are spinners.“Hussain said the nature of women’s cricket, particularly T20 cricket, makes spin a more valuable resource than seam bowling.“England have three spinners in the top six. So spin to win in women’s cricket, especially T20 cricket,” Hussain said in reply to a question by TimesofIndia.com.The former England skipper suggested India should rely on their spin options, play just two seamers and strengthen the batting unit instead.“I would play all my spinners, not all of them, but if you’re asking me about the balance, a couple of seamers and all my batting.”However, Hussain warned that such a strategy would require a more aggressive approach with the bat.“But if you do that, you have to go hard. If you go back to the 50-over World Cup, India at the start had the same problem. They played the extra batter, but were still being a bit cautious.”“Then suddenly it clicked, and they went harder, and they backed themselves. Jemimah got that magnificent hundred in the semifinal. Shafali gave them another bowling option in the final.”According to Hussain, if India choose the extra batter, they cannot afford to settle for par totals.“If you are going to go with the extra batter, you have to get an above-par score because you know your bowling’s a little bit light. You can’t just plod along to par. You have to get an above-par score and play fearless cricket. What I’ve seen of India on this trip so far, they have done that.”(Catch all the action from ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, June 12-July 5, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network)
